Super Tuesday: Donald Trump poised to seal Republican nomination

Victor: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a caucus party at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
Getty
Hannah Al-Othman1 March 2016
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Donald Trump looks set to sweep to victory in the Republican presidential race on “Super Tuesday”, as voting to select candidates gets underway in a dozen US states.

The race for the Republican Party nomination could be all but over by the end of the day with Trump poised to take at least eight of the twelve.

Residents of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia, as well as those living in American Samoa and Democratic voters living abroad, will be able to cast their vote in the primary election today, while results for Wyoming's Republican caucuses will also be completed.

Trump is leading the races in most states, although Ted Cruz is predicted to win on home turf in Texas and is ahead in Arkansas, while in Minnesota rival Marco Rubio is the front-runner.

It is also thought that by the end of Tuesday, Hillary Clinton could find herself in a similarly dominant position for the Democrats, with pollsters predicted her to cruise to an easy victory in the five southern states - Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, and Virginia.

There are 880 delegates up for grabs today as presidential candidates seek to accumulate enough to secure their party’s nomination, with Democrats needing 2,383, while the Republican candidates have to reach 1,237.

Trump has already secured 82, while his nearest rival Cruz is on 17, with Rubio just behind with 16.

On Monday a national CNN opinion poll of Republican voters put Trump support at 49 per cent, more than all his opponents combined.

The New York billionaire has already won three out of four early primary contests, and Super Tuesday, the biggest single voting day of the year, is expected to see him seal the deal.

The former reality TV star, who was originally seen as something as a joke candidate, rallied supporters in Tennessee on Saturday, ahead of today’s vote.

"On Tuesday, you have a big day," he said. "You get up, you go to the polls, and you vote!

"I promise you, that you are going to look back on this night and you are going to say this was a very important night, a very important evening in your life."

Rival Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, has already admitted that the other Republican candidates are facing an uphill battle.

"Right now, Donald Trump has enormous momentum," he said on Friday.

"If he continues with that momentum and powers through and wins everywhere on Super Tuesday, he could easily be unstoppable."

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