ELECTION LIVE: Super Super Tuesday

Americans are voting in the primaries that have become known as Super Super Tuesday – the most important day of a mad election year. 

It is effectively the last chance for the Republican voters to stop Donald Trump winning the nomination.  It is also the time of maximum danger for Hillary Clinton’s path to the White House, with Bernie Sanders looking for shock wins in the Midwest.

We are covering the primaries LIVE. We have reporters in the key states of Florida, Ohio and Illinois, who will be sending videos, pictures and stories. They will also be live streaming on our new US election page. 

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1.03 ET: That’s a wrap

We are all done.

Hillary and Trump win very very tight races in the final state to declare, Missouri. It completes dominant nights for both of them. Hillary won every state tonight, including the delegate rich biggies Ohio and Florida. Trump only lost one – Ohio, to its governor John Kasich, who will now become the Republican Establishment’s next hope after Rubio dropped out earlier.

We will have reports and videos from our team of reporters across the states tomorrow.

12.35 ET: Missouri swinging for Hillary

It now looks like Mizzou is going to go for Clinton, shutting out Bernie entirely tonight.

11.45 ET: Two states left

We are waiting for Illinois and Missouri. Both are super close. We will update when those ones come in.

11.41 ET: Chicago right now

Scenes at the Alhambra Palace Restaurant in Chicago.

11.25 ET: We are live-streaming from Chicago

Hayden Gamble is live streaming with the Bernie gang in Chicago. Get over to our Electoral College she she’s broadcasting. This guy says he’s confident ahead of the final results in Illinois and Missouri. “We’re gonna get an upset”.

11.12 ET: Bernie’s fans wait for good news

It’s beginning to look like Hillary’s night in Illinois and at this party in Chicago the atmos is subdued according to our reporter Hayden Gamble says. She just sent this:

“Everyone is lively and talkative. Lots of laughter, very vibrant. Everyone seems to be calm…”

Here’s her latest pic.

10.58 ET: Fresh from Hillary’s victory

Our reporters Jacob Goldberg and Jared Sleisenger interview Hillary fans from Palm Beach Florida just after her victory rang through the stadium:

Also at a Hillary party – a smaller Florida one – is Tyler Cianciulli, who sends this pic. We will be posting his video interviews tomorrow.

10.45 ET: Cruz is now AHEAD in Missouri

CNN now saying Cruz is marginally ahead in Missouri.

He has just got up in Texas, and his speech is being very nice about Marco Rubio. He wants Rubio’s voters in the remaining states – he needs them.

“Only two candidates have a plausible path to the nomination,” he says.

10.38 ET: Can Ted win a state?

It’s close. There is ONE POINT between Cruz and Trump in Missouri right now. Cruz really needs  this. The states coming up in the primary calendar aren’t as Ted Cruz as the ones we’ve had so far. A win in Missouri would be a tonic for his supporters and would allow him to say he is still the only alternative to Trump in the Republican race.

FiveThirtyEight says Cruz is performing well in Springfield and southwest Missouri, the state’s “Bible Belt”, where the evangelical voters are.

10.33 ET: Insider leak from the Trump campaign

Our insider source from the front rows of Trump’s exclusive Mar-A-Lago speech has just sent us this close-up photo of The Donald in action:

10.22 ET: Bernie still ahead in Missouri

This is how it looks in Missouri, with 31 percent of votes counted. Bernie is ahead, just. After disappointment in Ohio, a Bernie victory in Missouri would show that he’s got some life left in him yet.

Nate Silver says:

“Sanders won Michigan last week partly because he received a larger share of the black vote than he had in the South. And there were some signs again tonight that African-Americans in Midwestern states are more favorably disposed toward Sanders than those in the South. Based on exit polls, Sanders won about 30 percent of the black vote in Illinois, Ohio and Missouri, compared with 17 percent in North Carolina and 20 percent in Florida.”

This from CNN just now:

10.15 ET: Bernie fans nervous in Chicago

This picture just in from the Bernie party in Chicago, where  Hayden Gamble is reporting for us. She says the mood is good but nervous. Bernie is a few points behind Hillary in Illinois after 60% of votes have been counted.

10.06 ET: Illinois and Missouri results still coming in

Bernie is just ahead in Missouri and marginally behind in Illinois – he needs to win one, if not both, to still have a hope in the race.

9.55 ET: TRUMP TAKES NORTH CAROLINA

With 55.5 percent reporting, CNN are now calling North Carolina for Donald Trump. He is currently on 40.3 percent, four points ahead of nearest rival Ted Cruz.

He gives a shoutout to Sarah “everybody loves her” Palin for supporting his campaign.

If elected, Trump pledges to move to Apple out of China and back to America. With characteristic modesty, he adds: “We have such a good team, and we’re going to make such good deals.”

9.38 ET: Marco Rubio hosts terrible parties

Rubio supporters in Florida say how bummed they are: “It feels like we’re going to a funeral, it really does.”

9.31 ET: Bernie supporters are hopeful in Illinois

Our reporters on the ground in Chicago and Urbana-Champaign interview Bernie supporters awaiting results. Ganchimeg Ganzorig / Hayden Gamble sent these.

9.19 ET: Kasich’s victory speech

A protester in a red Trump hat tries to shout down Kasich, and is led out by security.

Kasich quips: “When you went to college in the 1970s, you appreciate a good peaceful protest, once in a while.”

9.11 ET: Hillary takes the stage

It’s becoming a really good night for Hillary, and she knows it.

9.05 ET: Final mic checks for Trump

Get ready for him to speak at his private club in Mar-A-Lago, Florida.

9.01 ET: Rubio supporters are pretty chill

Our reporter Aisha Moktadier asked Marco Rubio’s supporters how they felt after seeing their man drop out of the race. Here they are.

8.57 ET: HILLARY WINS OHIO 

CNN is calling Ohio for Hillary after she pulled out big leads in the results so far. That’s huge for Hillary – she’s won the big two races tonight, Florida and Ohio. Even if Bernie wins Illinois and Missouri, he will end the night even further behind his opponent on delegates.

The focus shifts to those states next, where CNN exist polls have Bernie just ahead.

8.48 ET: JOHN KASICH WINS OHIO

Everyone’s favorite weird uncle John Kasich takes his home state of Ohio, his first win in the primaries so far.

8.36 ET: Doom and gloom for r/sandersforpresident

Despite a promising CNN exit poll showing slim leads for Bernie in Illinois and Missouri, his considerable Reddit fanbase seem to have given up all hope.

8.27 ET: Trump protestor pulled out

This from our reporter Aisha Moktadier at Rubio’s ‘Celebration’ party in Miami which has quickly morphed into a funeral, as Rubio has dropped out of the race:

“The guy who shouted about Trump was pulled out. People were really upset that he did – everyone was screaming and yelling at him to get out.”

8.23 ET: RUBIO SUSPENDS HIS CAMPAIGN

Before a rousing finale to his speech, Rubio announces he is suspending his campaign. He says he owes “this great country” an “extraordinary debt”. He begins with a message about his faith – which is kind of also about his political future.

“God is perfect. God makes no mistakes. And he has plans for all of us.”

8.14 ET: Rubio is up in Miami

“People are frustrated” he says. A guy at the back shouts “Trump for president” and Rubio responded “He won’t get beaten up at our event”.

8:01 ET Bernie leads in Illinois and Missouri

Bernie appears to have the edge over Hillary Clinton in Illinois AND Missouri in exit polls – which comes as a big boost to the socialist septuagenarian.

8.00 ET TRUMP AND CLINTON TAKE FLORIDA

CNN is calling Florida for the front-runners. Donald Trump mops the floor with the Politician Formerly Known As Marco Rubio, while Hillary Clinton beats Sanders in ANOTHER southern state.

7.59 ET: University of Florida students Feeling the Bern

Tab political correspondent Jessica Giles has been on UF campus in Gainesville, gauging her fellow students’ voting preferences. Marco Rubio is popular among Gators – he is one, after all – whereas on the left, Floridians are backing Bernie.

David, a Mechanical Engineering senior, said: “I voted for Bernie because I think he’s a good role model for the country and I like his message.”

7.53 ET: Silver impressed by Trump

Nate Silver, America’s polling guru, says Trump’s Florida performance so far is big:

“Presuming that Florida is called for Trump at 8 p.m., most of the focus will be on Rubio’s demise. But let’s be clear: This is also a really impressive performance for Trump. He’s currently getting 46 percent of the vote in a populous, diverse state.”

7.44 ET: Why did you vote for Trump?

Jessica Giles was interviewing student voters in Gainesville, Florida earlier. Here she is meeting a Trump voter.

7.35 ET: Over in the Bernie dating group…

Earlier today it was all going off in Bernie Sanders Dank Memes Singles Facebook group. Read this piece from Roisin Lanigan if you want to understand the weirdest dating site in the world in time for the primaries.

7.29 ET: Kasich looking good in Ohio

It looks like John Kasich is doing what he needs to do in his home state – a CNN exit poll has him well ahead. It has Hillary ahead of Bernie in the Democratic race 53 per cent to 46 per cent. These are exit polls – don’t expect the final results to match them.

7.20 ET: Early Forida results – Trump and Clinton ahead 

After 1% of votes in Florida, Trump and Clinton are well ahead, as expected. It’s very very early days, but the scale of miracle required by Rubio here is now clear. This was CNN just now:

7.13 ET: Students for Trump

There are actually Students for Trump, so we phoned them up to talk.

Florida-based Peter Jerome Amirata, 21, a junior at Palm Beach Atlantic University told us: “We’ve been doing a lot of sign holding, updating our Twitter account. We’ve had students handing out flyers, we’ve had people going through class saying ‘Vote for Trump’.

“We’re getting some good reception. There are a few Bernie fans out there, so there are a few haters, but they’ll come around.

“There’s a lot of energy down here. The atmosphere is electric. It seems like everyone is involved.”

6.58 ET: Bernie’s problem with slacktivists

It’s no secret that Bernie has overwhelming support among Millenials, but will the online fanaticism translate into results at the polls?

6.52 ET: How has Rubio messed this up?

Marco Rubio was supposed to be the candidate to defeat the insurgents Trump and Cruz on behalf of the Republican establishment. It hasn’t worked out that way. Earlier we spoke to a political science professor at his alma mater, the University of Florida, about why he has done so badly. About tonight, he said:

“Losing the primary will clearly be the end of Rubio’s campaign”

6.44 ET: Trump confident in Florida

Donald Trump’s aides are telling journalists that they are very confident he will win Florida, where he has a string of businesses, homes and golf courses. We caught up with student voters in Gainesville earlier, including one who voted for Trump. Videos coming up.

6.36 ET: Bernie needs Ohio

Bernie basically has to pull of a surprise win in Ohio and Illinois tonight, following his shock win in nearby Michigan last night. Ohio is the biggie – it comes with a massive 159 delegates, and Bernie was campaigning hard there over the weekend. Our reporter Zoe Weaver was at his big rally in Columbus, Ohio and shot this video of Bernie doing his ‘I’ll unite America’ schtick:

6.23 ET: Exit polls coming up

A warning from the polling experts over at FiveThirtyEight about tonight’s exit polls:

One reason to treat early exit polls as preliminary is because … well, they change. They’ll be weighted as more waves of the exit poll and actual results come in.

6.20 ET: ‘Today I voted for America’

6.13 ET: 47 minutes until first votes are in 

Our Florida reporter Aisha Moktadier just got into Marco Rubio’s ‘Primary Night Celebration’ in Miami. Every pollster in America is expecting it to be the opposite of a celebration. If Rubio doesn’t win his home state of Florida tonight, he will likely drop out of the race. First results will come through at 8 ET.