Trump, Clinton Super Tuesday Victories Solidify Front-Runner Statuses, But Rivals Hold On
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump nabbed at least 7 states, with Sen. Bernie Sanders holding on to 4, including his home state of Vermont, and Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio taking 3 and 1, respectively. The vast majority of voters did not rank health care as the most important issue.
Modern Healthcare:
Health Policy Change Ranks Low For Voters As Clinton, Trump Surge Ahead On Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday was a win for the front-runners in both parties on a pivotal night in which healthcare policy seemed to play a minor role. ... The percentage of Democrats ranking healthcare as the most important issue for them Tuesday ranged from 16% in Massachusetts to 26% in Tennessee. Those voters strongly went with Clinton in the states where she came out on top, according to exit polls. More than two-third's of Clinton's voters on Tuesday, according to exit polls, said in general they'd rather stick with President Barack Obama's policies than move in a more liberal direction. (Muchmore, 3/1)
The New York Times:
Donald Trump Overwhelms G.O.P. Rivals From Alabama To Massachusetts
Donald J. Trump won sweeping victories across the South and in New England on Tuesday, a show of strength in the Republican primary campaign that underscored the breadth of his appeal and helped him begin to amass a wide delegate advantage despite growing resistance to his candidacy among party leaders. Mr. Trump’s political coalition — with his lopsided victories in Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts and Tennessee, and narrower ones in Arkansas, Vermont and Virginia — appears to have transcended the regional and ideological divisions that have shaped the Republican Party in recent years. (Burns and Martin, 3/1)
The New York Times:
Minority Voters Push Hillary Clinton To Victories
Hillary Clinton took full command of the Democratic presidential race on Tuesday as she rolled to major victories over Bernie Sanders in Texas, Virginia and across the South and proved for the first time that she could build a national coalition of racially diverse voters that would be crucial in the November election. Based on results from Democratic primaries and caucuses in 11 states, Mrs. Clinton succeeded in containing Mr. Sanders to states he was expected to win, like Vermont and Oklahoma, and overpowering him in predominantly black and Hispanic areas that were rich in delegates needed for the Democratic nomination. (Healy and Chozick, 3/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Donald Trump Notches More Wins, But Ted Cruz’s Victories Promise Long Race
New York businessman Donald Trump won Republican primaries Tuesday from the Deep South to New England, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took his home state, Oklahoma and Alaska, ensuring that the race for the GOP nomination will stretch into the spring. Mr. Trump’s victories Tuesday are all the more impressive because, for the first time in the race, he faced concerted attacks from his chief Republican rivals. He continues to defy the laws of presidential politics, courting controversies that few other politicians could survive. ... In the race for the Democratic nominee, front-runner Mrs. Clinton swept the delegate-rich states of Massachusetts and Texas, as well as key Southern states. Her rival, Bernie Sanders, won in four states—Minnesota, Vermont, Oklahoma and Colorado—which offered much less of a delegate haul. (O'Connor and Hook, 3/2)
CNN:
Donald Trump Stands By Softer Tone On Planned Parenthood
Donald Trump on Tuesday night once again sought to strike a softer tone on Planned Parenthood, paying tribute to its "very good work for millions of women" while also keeping up a threat to cut off federal funding to the organization if it continues to offer abortion services. (Krieg, 3/2)
