Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump each win 6 states on Super Tuesday

Since Clinton's big win on Saturday in South Carolina, Sanders has focused his campaign energies on Colorado, Massachusetts and Oklahoma.

Donald Trump has won five states on Super Tuesday, continuing to roll toward the Republican presidential nomination, early returns indicate. With 92 percent of precincts reporting in Virginia, Clinton led Sanders 65 percent to 35 percent. Several protesters from the group Black Lives Matter were thrown out - hardly a new sight at Trump rallies across the country. In fact, Rubio won Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Trump immediately trained his sights on Clinton, the immensely experienced former first lady, senator and secretary of state, who emerged from her own battles as the prohibitive Democratic favorite. The race in Alaska has not been called.

Immigration policy, the swollen US debt, the uneven spread of wealth and hard questions about how to approach the Islamic State, terrorism and civil liberties are all in play for voters. Clinton "did a fantastic job and put in the sweat equity that it takes to win the sate, and she was rewarded", Mancini said.

Clinton was steadying herself after an unexpectedly strong challenge from Bernie Sanders.

Clinton was declared the victor in Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas by the Associated Press shortly after the polls closed. Black voters powered Clinton to victory in SC last weekend, with 8 in 10 voting for her, and were expected to give her a huge advantage throughout the South.

"Once we get all of this finished I'm going to go after Hillary Clinton, on the assumption she's allowed to run, which is a big assumption", he said.

Striking a noticeable contrast with Trump, her possible general election rival, she smiled as she argued "I believe what we need in America today is more love and kindness". The billionaire businessman scheduled a nighttime news conference at his swanky Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, eschewing the traditional election night rally.

Results are already starting to come in on the East Coast for the Primary Election. Republicans voted in 11 states, with 595 delegates.

Analysts said the enthusiasm this year is on the Republican side, and said Mr. Trump is driving much of it. They also said they expect that enthusiasm to carry over as the race continues.

Texas Democratic strategist Harold Cook argues that it's not necessarily bad for Clinton if Sanders stay in the race, saying it allows her to hone her message and convince more voters of her candidacy. Including superdelegates - party leaders who get to vote for candidates at the convention - Clinton now has at least 882 delegates.

But the map, at least on Tuesday, did not appear to be helping Sanders.

Clinton can effectively secure the nomination as soon as all the results from Super Tuesday are in, and certainly no later than mid-March, said Jeff Berman, the campaign's consultant for delegate strategy.

Overall, Trump leads the Republican field with 221 delegates. Cruz has 69, Rubio has 41, Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 19 and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has seven. And, just as with Trump, 6 in 10 of her backers made up their mind more than a month ago.

The worries among Republicans appeared to grow after Trump briefly refused to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke during a television interview.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each took a giant step toward securing the White House nominations of their parties Tuesday, thumping rivals in a slew of "Super Tuesday" primaries.

"A house divided can not stand, and it is imperative the Republican Party exhibit unity by the candidates coming together with a pledge to talk about the many serious problems facing our country, instead of personally attacking each other", he said in a statement issued by his campaign.