US election: 5 states vote in ‘Super’ Tuesday

 Ohio, Florida hold key primaries

Five US states are holding primary elections for November’s presidential poll, in a crucial round that could give Democratic and Republican front-runners a chance to cement their leads.
Polls have opened in Ohio and Florida – both deemed key states – as well as in North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is hoping to fend off her resurgent challenger, Bernie Sanders.
Meanwhile Donald Trump will aim to edge out his rivals in the Republican race.
The New York real estate mogul is the favourite to win his party’s nomination but has run into fierce opposition from within the Republican establishment, as well as facing condemnation from the Democrats.
He scored an early success on Tuesday when he secured all nine delegates in the Northern Mariana Islands, part of the US Pacific Commonwealth, after winning almost 73% of the Republican caucus there.
Victories for any of Mr Trump’s rivals – Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, or John Kasich – in this round of primaries would give hope to the Republicans fighting to block him.
But polls have given Mr Trump a healthy showing in all five mainland states.
Two primaries seen as most crucial are in the winner-takes-all states of Florida, offering 99 delegates, and Ohio, with its 66 delegates.
Senator Rubio, currently in third place for the Republican nomination, has said he must win in Florida, his home state, in order to stop Mr Trump from “hijacking” his party’s nomination, but polls put Mr Trump slightly ahead.
However, Mr Trump is trailing Mr Kasich in Ohio, where the fourth-place candidate for the nomination is governor.
For the Democratic nomination, Mrs Clinton began Tuesday with a comfortable lead over her rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Opinion polls have given her a big lead in Florida and North Carolina, but show Mr Sanders is gaining ground in the other three states.
Mr Sanders pulled off a major political upset with his win in Michigan a week ago.
Mrs Clinton, visiting supporters in North Carolina on Tuesday, said “the numbers are adding up in my favour” but she was not complacent.
She praised both her and Mr Sanders’ campaigns, saying they had “actually focused on the issues… not insults” – a pointed attack on her Republican opponents.
Mr Trump has come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans after a string of violent incidents at his rallies.
His critics say his hard line on Muslims and immigrants, and inflammatory comments made about protesters at his rallies, have encouraged the violence and an atmosphere of hate. Mr Trump has rejected the accusations and called himself a “uniter”.
The Republican House of Representatives Speaker, Paul Ryan, said on Tuesday that “all candidates have an obligation to do what they can to try and provide an atmosphere of harmony, to reduce the violence, to not incite violence and to make sure that we are appealing to people on their best ideals”.
President Barack Obama said he had been dismayed by events on the campaign trail and said he rejected “any effort to spread fear or encourage violence… or to turn Americans against one another”.