The Republican Primary Thread / The Democratic Primary Thread
Banhammer
CNN
11:06 PM (GMT-4) Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Clinton routs Sanders in Mississippi; Trump edges out Cruz for narrow victory
As was expected, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has routed Bernie Sanders in the Mississippi primary, scoring a 62-point lead over the Vermont senator in another decisive win. Many experts point to Clinton's continued dominance over African American voters, as well as older voters of higher income, as the decisive factors in her successive victories, but evidence also suggests the former Secretary has also done well among demographics favorable to Sanders such as the young and those of lower income.
The Republican side of the Mississippi primary was much more tense, and defied many predictions: despite holding a massive lead in early polling in the state, Donald Trump managed to win only 3 points (a few hundred votes) than Texas Senatr Ted Cruz. Despite the Senator's recent rise in the polls, few expected him to be so competitive in the state as to nearly edge out the divisive billionaire candidate that has inspired so much fear in the GOP establishment. Is this the beginning of the end for Donald Trump, and a signal that Ted Cruz is poised to seriously challenge him for the party's nomination. Needless to say that Florida Senator Marco Rubio, once considered the savior of the GOP by many, no longer seems to qualify with a disappointing last place finish behind Ohio Governor Jon Kasich, both registering in the single digits. All in all, a bad night for moderate Republicans.
Clinton's win was certainly expected, as the article said, but Cruz's performance in Mississippi is impressive. Perhaps Trump can finally be dethroned from his position as the most likely GOP nominee?
The Republican Primary Thread / The Democratic Primary Thread
Azerty8
CNN
11:06 PM (GMT-4) Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Clinton and Trump Barely Win in Michigan
It was given that Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would win Michigan. Polls predicted that she would defeat Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by double digits. However, the last minute endorsement of Bernie Sanders from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive in the Democratic party, at a press conference in the state capital was clearly enough to give Sanders the extra boost to make this one a nail-biter for the Clinton campaign, picking up around 47% of the vote. Something which no polls had predicted him to do.
Sanders continues to perform strong amongst self-identified liberals and young voters. Clinton won the vast majority of African-American and Latinos, and she kept a lofty majority amongst women. However, Sanders saw a substantial increase in women voting for him, many attribute to this Warren's support.
Despite outperforming expectations in Michigan, Sanders still underperformed in Michigan according to Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com. Sanders needed a win in Michigan tonight to stay on track to win the nomination. But the celebration amongst Sanders supporters clearly show that tonight was a spiritual victory for the campaign.
Just a few days ago businessman Donald Trump was the favorite to win Michigan going into tonight's contest. However, a few Mitt Romney robocalls and several townhalls later the exit polls were showing Trump to be in some trouble. Ohio Governor John Kasich had campaigned hard in the Wolverine State, and he benefited from Marco Rubio's unresponsiveness towards Mitt Romney robocalls, pre-recorded messages from the 2012 Presidential Nominee that many Michigan Republicans woke up to. Kasich finished a strong second with 30% of the vote, just 4% behind Trump. Texas Senator Ted Cruz landed an equally impressive third place with 25% while Florida Senator Marco Rubio failed to reach the state's 15% viability threshold, only netting 11% of voters.
The results in both Mississippi and Michigan are bad news for both the Trump and Rubio campaign. It shows that Trump's lead may be falling to candidates like Cruz and Kasich. Meanwhile, Rubio's last place performance in both Mississippi and Michigan are bad news for the Senator. Combined with poor polling in Florida many are calling now for Rubio to drop out.
Kasich and Cruz were tonight's big winners. Although Trump won both primaries, he underperformed heavily and almost lost both. If Kasich wins in Ohio then he has a strong case for being the anti-Trump candidate. Cruz's close defeat in Mississippi almost saw Trump's deep south streak be broken.
Most new Kasich and Cruz voters came from the Rubio camp. In Mississippi this was due to the endorsement of the relatively unpopular Governor Phil Bryant. In Michigan, the Mitt Romney robocalls were the last straw for many voters.
Overall, Super Tuesday 2 points to the possibility that Trump and Clinton are falling. However, March 15th is do-or-die for both Rubio, Kasich, and Sanders.
The Republican Primary Thread / The Democratic Primary Thread
Angelica
I don't know what is more surprising: that Trump nearly lost in Mississippi or Bernie nearly won in Michigan. The results are certainly more mixed than first expected. Perhaps Clinton and Trump aren't as certain to be the candidates destined to lead their parties. Maybe the Trump can be stumped!
