Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
Clinton Wins Five States: AL, AR, GA, TN, VA; Standing By For Clinton Speech To Supporters; Trump, Rubio, Cruz In Tight Races In AR, OK; Twelve Races Still To Be Called; Standing By For Clinton Speech: Trump To Speak Shortly; Trump Wins Four States: AL, GA, MA, TN; Clinton Speaking To Supporters In Florida; Vote Now On Clinton's Speech. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired March 01, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: This is the second round of closings. We are going to share the numbers with you right now and some major projections.
First of all, CNN projects that Donald Trump will win the Alabama Republican presidential primary, another state going to Donald Trump. CNN also projects that Donald Trump will carry Massachusetts, the Republican presidential primary in Massachusetts another win for Donald Trump. A third win right now at this hour, Donald Trump, CNN projects will also carry Tennessee. Three wins right now for Donald Trump.
Hillary Clinton, we project, Hillary Clinton will be the winner in both Alabama and Tennessee. Two important wins for Hillary Clinton right now. You see Alabama, 53 delegates at stake. In Tennessee, another 67 delegates. Hillary Clinton is the winner in both of those states. Two more wins nr Hillary Clinton.
Right now at the top of the hour, we have a key race alert we want to share with you right now as well. Let's go first to Oklahoma on the Republican side. A close contest over there. Based on our exit polls, Ted Cruz at 32 percent. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio at 27 percent. Those are exit poll estimates.
In Massachusetts on the Democratic side, estimates, 52 percent for Bernie Sanders, 46 percent for Hillary Clinton. Close contest there. In Oklahoma, on the Democratic side as well, similarly, Bernie Sanders 51 percent, 46 percent for Hillary Clinton. Those are estimates based on the exit polls.
Remember, these exit polls are based on our early survey of voters as they left their polling locations. The final outcome may be different. We can expect those numbers, by the way, to change throughout the night.
So let's take a look at the wins so far tonight. For Donald Trump, he has won four states. Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. Similarly, Hillary Clinton, she has won four states. Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Bernie Sanders, we have projected carries, wins his home state of Vermont. You see that right there.
Let's go back to Jake Tapper - Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Wolf.
You know, it's so interesting, we have right now Hillary Clinton projected to have won four contests. Donald Trump projected to have won four contests. Let's talk about right now some of the surprises we're seeing.
Right now, much more competitive and it's still early, we don't have the final results. But Oklahoma much more competitive on the Republican side than one might have thought.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. In fact, I just got a text from a senior Cruz campaign source saying they are feeling better than they expected in Oklahoma tonight as they're watching the results come in just like we are. Now, we should say, and underscore, that the Ted Cruz campaign going back several months, before they realized what a force Donald Trump would be, they were hoping to sweep the south.
TAPPER: Right.
BASH: They were hoping this would be a day where they would knock out all of these states and you just saw Wolf report that Donald Trump -- yes, Donald Trump is, has won several of the southern states.
TAPPER: Three. Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.
BASH: Can we just take a step back? That kind of a brash billionaire from New York just won several of the sort of ruby red southern states on the Republican side. It is kind of amazing when you think about it, not knowing the kind of voter he's appealing to, but just kind of taking a step back. You never would have thought about that.
TAPPER: Let's go to Sara Murray at Trump headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida.
Sara Murray, we have already projected this evening that Donald Trump will win four states. That's not yet running the table but it's a good ways on the way to running the table.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: That's right, Jake. I mean, that's a pretty big lead so far in Super Tuesday. And the Trump campaign is aware that if it was anyone not named Trump that we were talking about here, they would probably already be referred to as the presumptive Republican nominee. But they are fully aware of this anti-Trump sentiment, the never Trump movement. And that's why they are telling me that even if they have a big sweep tonight, they're still not going to come out from tonight feeling like they have locked this up.
When I spoke with campaign manager Corey Lewandowski earlier he told me the way the math works you still can't win all the delegates and the only thing that matters in this race is the delegate count. So no matter what happens tonight, they are still going to be going full speed ahead until March 15th trying to lock this down - Jake. TAPPER: All right, Sara Murray at Trump headquarters. He's already
been projected to have won four primaries. Let's go now to the headquarters of the Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton also projected to have won four primaries this evening, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Jeff Zeleny, Hillary Clinton was able to stop Bernie Sanders' momentum in Nevada. And then in South Carolina. She underlined the point this could be a big night for her as well.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I think there's no doubt about that, Jake. In the Alabama and Tennessee electorates are similar to the South Carolina electorate. And that is something that the campaign was counting on. So now you can add four wins to her column already tonight. You can hear the crowd behind me cheering, just few moments ago as Wolf announced those wins.
And, again this is part of the fact Hillary Clinton is doing so much better than eight years ago because she's not competing for another candidate for the African-American vote which of course is a core constituency here in those states across the south here. So the Clinton campaign is feeling very good about Alabama and Tennessee. Of course, they're not general election battlegrounds. They are, you know, as red of states as you can get. But they still count in this delegate fight here.
So going forward, what they're keeping an eye on even closer, Jake, Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Those polls are closed now as well. The Clinton campaign believes that those may be two of their most difficult states tonight. So that's what they're watching even more to see, Massachusetts if Bernie Sanders can have any strength there.
But Jake, what's really happening tonight is as Secretary Clinton really begins to speak probably in the next 30 minutes or so, she's going to keep, you know, moving straight ahead making the case for why she is the stronger Democrat here in this race. But it has not gone unnoticed by supporters here behind me and the Clinton campaign that Donald Trump is just up the road here not too far in southern Florida here. So a very Florida-heavy night tonight, Jake.
[20:06:13] TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny.
Let's bring in our political director David Chalian who could shed some light on to how Donald Trump has been able to bring about this string of victories this evening.
And David, we will get to Massachusetts in a second, because that's going it be interesting to dissect. Let's talk about the southern states right now. Donald Trump being declared or projected the victor in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. How did he do it?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Jake, you actually can throw Massachusetts into this mix because we're seeing some similar trends happening now. And I know that we've been talking about some of these things throughout the night. But this is really the fuel of this candidacy, the notice of being an outsider. In a majority in Alabama, Tennessee, and Massachusetts, all the states
just projected for him, all want an outsider and he wins those voters going away. Take a look at Alabama. He wins those looking for an outsider 64 percent to Cruz's 12 percent. Cruz who has a brand of being an outsider, even though he has a senator in front of his name, Carson at 12 percent and Rubio down at six percent, just Trump owns it. Look at Tennessee. Another state that was just projected for him. He wins the outsider vote, 67 percent to Cruz's 13 percent, to Carson at 11 percent and to Rubio at six percent. And in Massachusetts, up there in the northeast, same story. Even a bigger margin. Trump wins 72 percent of these voters, Kasich wins eight percent of them, Ted Cruz wins eight percent and Carson wins five percent.
Jake and Dana, remember in all three of those states with those huge margins that Trump wins those voters by, those voters made up a majority of the electorate in each of those states. That is what is fueling this is that he is not from inside the political establishment.
TAPPER: So fascinating, David Chalian.
And Dana, all of the candidates, and I think we can agree, this is probably one of the most impressive array of Republican presidential candidates that we've had running at the same time, just in terms of their CV, all of them except for Donald Trump and a couple others running as guys who know how to make the system work, establishment politicians, Jeb Bush -- Jeb can fix it. And that's not where the Republican electorate is.
BASH: Exactly, not where a Republican electorate is if you have a gov. or senator, or a former in front of your name, no thank you. The only person who's coming close is Ted Cruz because he has been in Washington -- hasn't been there very long and because he's always been kind of the outsider.
But what I think is really fascinating, first of all, just, again, taking a step back here, Donald Trump won the Republican primary in Massachusetts and Georgia. Can you imagine two different electorates even within the Republican Party? It shows the breadth of his support. But as this is going on, I just got some reporting that there was a call among people who are trying to grow an anti-Trump super PAC because they see this train going superfast. And Tim Miller, the former communications director for Jeb Bush, has now signed on to this super PAC. There was a call among a lot of donors --
TAPPER: On principles.
BASH: Not a lot of them committed I'm told. But they have a plan and they sold it hard to a lot of donors who are not yet committed. But they're hoping they will be.
TAPPER: It is interesting that they are doing that. I'm wondering why now? Why not wait until the Trump inauguration? It seems --
BASH: I sense a little sarcasm, Jake.
TAPPER: Well, it just seems late in the process - Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Yes. Perfect timing.
Jake, Dana, thanks very much.
Jeffrey Lord, you're just joining us. I mean, it's so fascinating the contrast between the Republican side and Democratic side. Republicans wanting an outsider. Democratic side looking for experience pointing to Hillary Clinton. But certainly shaping up so far to be a very good night for your candidate.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely. You know, one of the things I find fascinating listening to Dana and Jake, I see the line on (INAUDIBLE) that Donald Trump is executing, quote/unquote "hostile takeover" which is exactly the way it is --.
[20:1 0:05] COOPER: Hostile takeover of the Republican Party.
LORD: Of the Republican Party, exactly. Only in the Republican Party could you have the base of the party wanting to exert its will and that is being called a hostile takeover. This is the lifeblood of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. And they are saying this is what they want. And you get a bunch of consultants and major donors who are clustered in power centers here or there saying oh, no, no, you've taken away from us --
COOPER: When you hear Jake - you know, we are talking, Dana talking about donors having this conference call, talking about a super PAC to go after Trump, does it concern you at all?
LORD: I hope they do to be perfectly candid. I mean, you know.
COOPER: You think it could only just add to Donald --.
LORD: Absolutely. I mean, I'm waiting for Governor Romney to endorse Marco Rubio. I mean, please help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not going to --
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But this is amazing because Trump has completely thwarted the establishment. If they stand down and do nothing, he wins. If they attack him, he wins. It is just a remarkable. I think you are going to look at this in political science and military strategy for a very, very long time. He took a prisoner's dilemma where nobody knew what to do and created a fork for himself. Honestly, I think to your point, Paul, I think our establishment is not as far from the base. You are saying about that, right.
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We were talking about this during the break that the gulf between Democratic elites and Democratic grassroots not very big. I mean, I talked to these mega donors all the time, they care about the Supreme Court, and abortion rights, and gay rights, and climate change. So does the grassroots Democrats.
The gulf in the Republican Party between their grassroots and elites is a chasm. And Donald Trump saw that and the rest of the elites did not.
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And it's also just amazing the speed at which the conservative base has abandoned their commitment to purity which is really defines them over the past eight years.
COOPER: You mean, like --
CUPP: Yes. I mean, just as recently as the 2014 midterm elections. I mean, the 2010 midterm elections which birthed, you know, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and saw John Boehner's departure. Right? That's because the conservative base was so committed to purity, whether that's muscular Christianity, constitutional strictness, I mean, that defined my party for the past eight years. In less than a year, Trump has proven that that commitment to purity is no longer a defining organizing principle --
(CROSSTALK)
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: One of the issues and one of the issues that a lot of these candidates promised that they were going to thwart Obama's policies, that they are going to reverse Obamacare, that they were going to do things that they really weren't in a bog position to do. And there are a lot of voters in your party who say, you know what we need a total disrupter, we need someone who's going to go in there who's from outside the political system and shake things up in a way that these politicians --
COOPER: I wonder how much of it is just the personality of Donald Trump? I mean, the uniqueness of this candidate.
CUPP: That's what people will learn after this is done because is this just a Trump phenomenon and will my party go back to purity, whether he wins or loses? I don't know. That is the defining question of the future. But Axe, I think you're right, but under those circumstances Ted Cruz should be doing --
AXELROD: Ted Cruz looks -- Ted Cruz looks like an insider --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He does.
CUPP: Next to Donald Trump. You're right.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: And the new definition of your party is anti-Republican. That's what it is.
CUPP: One hundred percent.
BORGER: One hundred percent. I man, and looking through all of these exit polls and trying to two through them now tonight, it's very clear the Trump voter, men, undereducated, lower income, conservative, evangelical, care about telling it like it is, bring change, angry with government, outside the establishments. That is not -- AXELROD: You look at Massachusetts, to make Gloria's point, a
majority of voters there say they wanted someone outside the establishment in the Republican -- Donald Trump won that vote with 72 percent. Those who wanted someone who's experienced in politics, Marco Rubio got -- these numbers could change a little bit but he got 39 percent because that vote was divided among a lot of different people.
LORD: There were two separate things at play here. One had nothing to do with Donald Trump and that was the anger of the base of the Republican Party at the Republican Party. That Boehner and McConnell, all of these folks in the establishment. Had nothing to do with Donald Trump.
Over here, you have Donald Trump cultural force, if you will, whose politics happen to coincide with this. He enters the picture. Here is this. Bam, you get this mammoth explosion which they, people, they didn't take him seriously and now they're paying for it.
COOPER: How much do you think Donald Trump saw that anger ahead of time, or did he announce and then sort of start -- I mean, he clearly has an instinct, a political instinct, or an ability to read a crowd, read stuff, how much do you think was preplanned, he saw it ahead of time? How much was just sensing it out?
AXELROD: Well, I saw his announcement. He didn't exactly ease into the bathtub. He had a pretty angry announcement.
[20:15:03] COOPER: Fair enough. Good point.
BEGALA: And he's a pure instinct player then he saw what worked. He went out there and said stuff he'd probably been saying to friends for a long time and particularly when he hit immigration and I think bashed Mexicans unfairly, and it worked. It was like a jolt. And I think it is -- Trump can be, I think, distracting. He's so interesting, he's so compelling, he's funny, he's profane.
This is about the grassroots. This is about something that's real. And to S.E.'s point, Republicans use to say to be Republican you have to believe in free market economy and free trade. Trump is against free trade. You had to believe in neocon foreign policy. He attacked the war in Iraq and said it was stupid. (INAUDIBLE). You have to believe in fundamentalist Christianity. Trump can name 2 Corinthians and he stops.
COOPER: Let's go back to Wolf -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Guys, thanks very much.
We are about to hear from Donald Trump. He is getting ready to address some of his followers in Palm Beach, also answer reporters' questions. We are also going to be hearing shortly from Hillary Clinton. Both have won several states right now. We have a key race alert right now to update you on what's going on.
Take a look at this. In Vermont, first of all, only two percent of the vote in on the Republican side. Trump is ahead 36.4 percent, 25 percent for John Kasich, the Ohio governor, 19 percent for Marco Rubio, 16 delegates at stake in Vermont.
In Virginia on the Republican side, Donald Trump is ahead with 36.8 percent, 30.5 percent for Marco Rubio. Only 16.9 percent for Ted Cruz, 49 delegates at stake in Virginia.
Oklahoma right now, there's a close battle under way. With two percent of the vote in, very, very early, but Donald Trump is ahead 36.2 percent, Ted Cruz 29.6 percent, Marco Rubio 21.9 percent, 43 delegates at stake in Oklahoma.
Let's move to Texas right now. That's the big prize. Votes are coming in right now in Texas. The polls actually close in Texas at the top of the hour, 9:00 p.m. eastern. But they're already releasing officially these numbers right now. One percent of the vote is in. Ted Cruz at 41.9 percent. Donald Trump 30.5 percent. Marco Rubio in third place with 14 percent. That's in Texas. That's the big prize of the night, 155 delegates in Texas for the Republicans.
Let's move on, take a look at some more of these results coming in. On the Democratic side in Massachusetts, very early, only one percent of the vote is in. Bernie Sanders, he's got 54 percent. Hillary Clinton, 45.3 percent. Once again, very, very early in Massachusetts.
In Oklahoma, similarly Bernie Sanders is ahead, but it's still very early there. Only two percent of the vote is in, 48.5 percent for Bernie Sanders, 42.4 percent for Hillary Clinton. The close contest there as well.
In Texas, we're getting these results in, polls still are open in parts of Texas. But right now with five percent of the vote counted, 67.8 percent for Hillary Clinton. 31.2 percent for Bernie Sanders.
Let's go over to John King who is taking a closer look.
I guess you got Texas up there right now. She's doing well, but only five percent of the vote is in.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She is tracking you as you're going through some of the early results. Only five percent of the vote. This is, what, again, across the south, but all the way over to Texas, this is what Hillary Clinton is looking for tonight in the states with the big delegate baskets. She wants to win by a convincing margin to run up a delegate lead. You see Oklahoma to the north, Bernie Sanders has the early lead there, just three percent of the vote. And this is one of the states where Bernie Sanders focused on, targeted on, one of his top Super Tuesday targets.
We pull out to the broader map, there you see Secretary Clinton filling in. She expected a win. She's looking for healthy margins in Virginia. That's a healthy margin, 63 percent. Early results in Tennessee, just only two percent. But she is pushing 69 percent there.
So the map in the south is just what secretary Clinton wanted, 77 percent in Georgia. If numbers like that hold, Wolf, early results, very early in Alabama, if results like that hold, she's going to get the bulk of the delegates and there are a lot of delegates in southern states. Excuse me for a little touch there. Bernie Sanders winning in Vermont at the moment, leading in Massachusetts. Very close race here. Look at that. Only one percent of the vote in, though. The exit polls I think show a little bit more of a Sanders lead.
But this one here would be a moral victory for Secretary Clinton if she could get it, and a big victory for Bernie Sanders if he can win outside of New Hampshire and Vermont. He'll have his claim on New England, if you will.
The Republican race, map is filling in as much as Donald Trump would like it to fill in. There is a conversation among conservatives right now online that maybe the margins are little smaller, maybe there are some proof in these results. The attacks are working on Donald Trump or keep them going. That's the conversation they're having. The map is filling in for victories for Donald Trump which means she is going to get the vote for the delegates.
As you noted early results in Texas. There is no voting out here. But polls don't close out here until the top of the hour. Our early result in Texas are Ted Cruz lead, he very much needs to have -- Ted Cruz wants to make the case he has beat Donald Trump twice.
Virginia, it is fascinating when you look at this map. We're up to 74 percent of the vote in. Donald Trump is leading. Marco Rubio in second place. And yet Marco Rubio is binning in all of the places that you would look for in a Republican race. You would say can he win in the suburbs? If you look up here, now there's a lot of votes up here, but Loudoun County, about what, half an hour to 45 minute drive from Washington, D.C., key growing suburb, 69 percent.
We move over here with Prince William County, swing area in the state, only 16 percent in. Rubio just barely ahead here. This is a tight race in what is always known as a swing county in the state. Fairfax, a huge county, 13.5 percent. Rubio with a healthy lead. So Rubio is winning where he wanted to in the suburbs and also in the suburbs around Richmond and Riko County right down in here. He is winning but only by a small margin there. And Richmond County by a little much healthier margin there, but it's a smaller county. But look what Donald Trump is doing everywhere else. This if you go back to 2008, if Ted Cruz were going to play in Virginia, it would have been out here. Instead, Donald Trump filling it in.
[20:20:35] BLITZER: Let's go to Oklahoma right now.
KING: One more quick point. Donald Trump winning in the Virginia Beach area, Norfolk area, down along the coast, winning by a healthy margin. He holds on to win Virginia tonight, that will be the key, the population center down here.
Now, you want to pull up to Oklahoma. This is a state, if Cruz wins Texas, he would love to add Oklahoma tonight to make the case he won two states tonight. Just his home state. Look at as the early results come in, just six percent, 33, 28-24. It's a fight at the moment. Again, we've seen this throughout. Oklahoma City right now Rubio leading here. This is your traditional suburban Republican voter outside of Oklahoma City. But look, he is fighting, wrestling with Donald Trump for the suburbs. So we have seen this in every state. Sometimes Trump wins by a few. Sometimes Rubio wins by a few. The reason Rubio has not been able to win a state is that he can't get a clear win in the suburbs. And then win a little bit everywhere else. Donald Trump is fighting him, either beating him or fighting him very close in the suburbs and then winning in the rural areas when you get out here.
Ted Cruz winning in some other places tonight. This one is a three- way arm wrestle. And we are going to go through as we count the votes. It is only six percent of the votes in. So it is hard to say which way we are headed. But if you come down here, again, around these places here, this is where you want to see if you're Marco Rubio, you want to win just outside the population centers. Urban areas and the suburbs. Tulsa county 16 percent of the statewide vote. Rubio's down to third here.
BLITZER: Let's take a look at the map of the United States right now. Let's see where we stand right now. You see Donald Trump has already won, we projected four states tonight. Hillary Clinton, we projected we she wins one, two, three four as well. So we are getting ready for Arkansas. That's about to close as well, right, at bottom of the hour. Only a few minutes away from maybe projecting results in Arkansas. Much more of our special coverage coming up right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:25:29] BLITZER: All right. Here's where we stand right now. Hillary Clinton has won four states. Donald Trump has won four states. Donald Trump has won Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. We have projected that already. Hillary Clinton has won Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee. We have projected that as well. Bernie Sanders has won his home state of Vermont. We projected that.
Here's a key race alert. Here's where we stand right now. In Vermont, on the Republican side, only four percent of the vote is in, 34.9 percent for Donald Trump. 28.1 percent for John Kasich. Marco Rubio at 19.3 percent. You see it just changed. That's Vermont. Let's move on.
The next Republican state, Virginia, a close contest, Donald Trump is at 37.2 percent. 30 percent for Marco Rubio. Ted Cruz only 17 percent. 83 percent of the vote is in. That's a lot.
In Oklahoma, only seven percent of the vote is in, but Donald Trump maintains a slight lead over Ted Cruz, 33.6 percent to 27.6 percent. Marco Rubio, slightly behind, 24 percent in third place.
In Texas, a huge prize, all the polls in Texas close at the top of the hour, but they release numbers already. Polls in part of the state have closed. Ted Cruz maintaining his lead, 38.1 percent. Donald Trump, 28 percent. Marco Rubio, 20 percent, 17 percent of the vote is in in Texas. That's the big prize of the night, 155 delegates at stake in Texas.
Let's move on to the Democratic side right now in Massachusetts. Hillary Clinton maintaining a slight lead over Bernie Sanders, 51.2 percent to 47.8 percent. But it's very, very early. Only one percent of the vote is in.
In Oklahoma, Hillary Clinton similarly maintaining a slight lead 50.1 percent, 43.9 percent for Bernie Sanders. Six percent of the vote is in.
In Texas, remember, they close at the top of the hour. Ten percent of the vote is in. She has got a lopsided lead right now, 69.7 percent to 29 percent for Bernie Sanders. We are just minutes away from a new chance to project Super Tuesday winners. The polls are about to close in Arkansas in a few minutes right at the bottom of the hour.
Here's what we're looking for. Arkansas is a state where Donald Trump's top rivals may have a shot at slowing his momentum tonight. We're going to find out if it's a close race very, very soon.
Hillary Clinton is expecting to win big in Arkansas where her husband was governor for 12 years.
Let's walk over to John King. He is over at the magic wall.
Arkansas, an important state on the Republican and the Democratic side.
KING: For Hillary Clinton it's an exclamation point, the former first lady, remember back to the 1992 campaign, Wolf. We first met down in Arkansas, obviously, if you go back to 2008, Obama didn't really compete, this was Hillary Clinton's state, 70-26 percent. She love to get those numbers tonight as she does. And if you look just where it is, this is Clinton country down here. Oklahoma still in play tonight. But she is expected to win Texas. She's winning all these other states. She just hopes, again, African-American base vote, turn out the vote in her former home state and run it up. On the Republican side, the question is, again, if you look, defense to have momentum in these things. If you have this, Trump wins or Trump leads. And then Trump has a close fight in Oklahoma right now. Donald Trump wants this one. Again, Ted Cruz would like to take it away.
If you go back and look a little bit of history here, just going to go back and show you in 2012, this is the area Rick Santorum did very well. Not Arkansas but around this area. And in 2008, this was the area Mike Huckabee did very well. This was supposed to be the base of the Cruz campaign. Win the states the challengers won in those other races, get across the south and then prove yourself outside of the south. But as we look tonight, Ted Cruz currently leading in his home state of Texas but as you can see, it is Donald Trump filling in the rest of the map at the moment. Diminishing the Cruz campaign and diminishing the Cruz path to the nomination. We'll see what happens in Oklahoma. But so far, this filling in for Donald Trump in a very impressive way. Some people are saying the margin is a little smaller. But look at the map. Donald Trump proves he can win in New England, proves he can win in the south, prove he can win in the west. The map is starting to fill in.
Let's switch over to the Democratic side. We got a fight in Massachusetts still. That one plays out, 51-47, Clinton ahead at the moment. Sanders winning in his home state. He, obviously, started by winning in New Hampshire. And we are going to watch as well. The otherwise the Clinton campaign getting what it wants. Across the south there, Wolf, largely on the basis of African-American support running up big numbers meaning they will run up some big delegate numbers for the Clinton campaign. In the next hour or so we'll be able to allocate the delegates and do the math, Wolf.
BLITZER: Another state about to close right now. We are talking about Arkansas, all the voting in Arkansas closes at 8:30 p.m. eastern. That's only seconds away from now. Arkansas an important state for the Democratic candidates as well as the Republican candidates. So we're going to see what's going on in Arkansas. Get ready, CNN has another major projection.
[20:30:12] And CNN projects Hillary Clinton will carry, will win Arkansas. The Democratic presidential primary. Rack that up. Another state in Hillary Clinton's win column tonight. That's five states for Hillary Clinton.
Let's get a key race alert right now on the Republican side. Take a look at this. On the Republican side, these are estimates based on our exit poll information, Donald Trump slightly ahead 34 percent, Ted Cruz 30 percent, Marco Rubio 25 percent. These are close numbers. This is an exit poll based on the CNN estimates. Remember, these are estimates based on our early survey of voters as they left their polling locations.
The final outcome may be different. We can expect those numbers to change throughout the night. So that's where we stand right now. Here are the states that the have won that have already been projected on the Republican side, Donald Trump, he has won Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, and Tennessee, four states so far. The only winner so far on the Republican side of states.
On the Democratic side, five states for Hillary Clinton, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas. Five states going for Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders carries his home state of Vermont. We have present projected that as well.
Let's go back to Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thanks, Wolf. No surprise that the former first lady of Arkansas, Hillary Clinton, has won the state of Arkansas. But nonetheless, it is a big victory for the Clinton team, Jeff Zeleny who joins us from Miami where the Clinton headquarters are located this eve evening.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No doubt, Jake. I mean, Arkansas is no surprise, but it's a win nonetheless and a very sweet wins for this Democratic crowd here. You can hear behind me right now, they're just cheering the new here. Now there are some 32 delegates in the state of Arkansas. Of course, Bernie Sanders will win (inaudible) interesting in quite if you think about Arkansas. George W. Bush was the first Republican to carry that in 2000 since it's always been a Democratic state.
So could Hillary Clinton put this into play in the general election? If she becomes the nominee, could she put this into play? That is one thing that some Democrats here are talking about, Jake. Of course, that's getting ahead of ourselves, she still has to win the Democratic nomination, but this Arkansas victory certainly a sweet one for this former first lady of the State of Arkansas. Jake?
TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny at Clinton campaign headquarters with her fifth projected win of the evening. And as you noted, it is remarkable that of the two, Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton who months ago both were talking about how they had this firewall of Southern States
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
TAPPER: Hillary Clinton's firewall seems to be holding up. Ted Cruz not so much, and not only that, the competition is from a brash man from Queens, New York.
BASH: I know. It is kind of remarkable. But, you know, I think what Hillary Clinton's wins across the south also really illustrates, is the divide within the Democratic Party for these two candidates. That she really is getting out the African-American vote. We've seen that in contests leading up to today and he is doing better in White States.
TAPPER: Right.
BASH: It's just the bottom line. And as you pointed out a couple at nights ago, the Sanders' people say well that's really well and good, Hillary Clinton, that you're winning Arkansas in the Democratic primary, but show me Arkansas in the general election and then we'll talk.
TAPPER: That's right.
BASH: Yeah.
TAPPER: And a very, very close election going on right now in the primary in Arkansas for Republicans. Let's bring in our political director David Chalian to give us some more insight into that.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Jake, so you know obviously the polls have just closed there in Arkansas and we have not made a projection in the race yet. So we're digging in to see, sort of what is going on in the state and what were Republican voters thinking about as they showed up to the polls today in Arkansas?
Take a look at this split between very conservative voters and somewhat conservative voters. Very conservative voters make up 42 percent of the electorate today and Ted Cruz is winning by 15 points, 43 percent to Trump's 28 percent to Rubio's 19 percent and Carson's 8 percent. Remember 42 percent of the electorate is a big chunk.
If you look at somewhat conservative voters, folks that identify themselves as somewhat conservative, that's 41 percent of the electorate. And Trump wins those. But Rubio is keeping it close. Trump wins it by six points, 36 percent, Rubio's got 30 percent. Ted Cruz at 23 percent, and Dr. Carson down at 6 percent.
So this is a sort of a battle between somewhat conservative and very conservative voters then there's this other really interesting finding in the exit polls that I think you guys have been talking some bit about tonight which is sort when people decide. Among those voters who decided in the last few days, we are once again seeing Marco Rubio winning the late deciders. 40 percent to Cruz's 31 percent, to Trump's 15 percent, to Kasich's 6 percent.
[20:35:03] Trump does not wear well as these races go on. We've been finding in many of the states. Take a look at those who decided much earlier. 40 percent of those voters go for Trump. Cruz wins 30 percent. Rubio wins 20 percent and Dr. Carson wins 6 percent.
What is of great news to Donald Trump is that there are many more earlier deciders in the race tonight than there are late deciders. But that late decider window in this state, about 22 percent of the electorate, is something to watch going forward in all these states to see if this attacks by Marco Rubio are having impact. He seems to be winning these late deciders.
TAPPER: Interesting. Late deciders, once again, in Arkansas going for Marco Rubio and very conservative voters are going for Ted Cruz. But still, will that be enough in order for Donald Trump to not be the victor in Arkansas in the Republican primary, Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Yeah, and that certainly is a trend we saw in Nevada of late deciders going for Marco Rubio. Clearly the Rubio campaign is going to try to at least cling to that tonight without having ...
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah ...
COOPER: ... without having looks that it through.
AXELROD: What it also means is that Trump supporters commit early in the many of them stick with him.
COOPER: Right.
AXELROD: And that's enough particularly in a divided field to win. So that some solace to Rubio if you don't mind taking participation ribbons home every week but if you're going to win ...
COOPER: Right.
AXELROD: .... you've got to do better than that.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, you can't be everybody's second choice for this long. I mean ... COOPER: Does it mean, though, his attacks against Trump have been working at all?
BORGER: It might.
COOPER: Because it doesn't seem like it's shedding any voters from Trump.
BORGER: Right. I think it might mean that people are giving him another look and if they're a late deciders saying, OK, he's finally starting to fight back, there could be just as many people, however, who were repulsed by the way he did it. I mean, it sort of ...
AXELROD: Well as the question is he could be hurting Trump in some of these states, but keeping people away -- but knocking people over to Cruz and particularly ...
COOPER: Right.
AXELROD: ... in states that are more conservative by nature. I don't think he's taking votes away from Trump, but he may be preventing some from going to him.
COOPER: Michael, yes?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: The way that this is coming together, I think the night is young, it's an important night, but in a big- picture sense, Trump is both dominating, but he's leaving just enough crumbs on the table to keep the other guys in. Because they'll all be able to point to something tomorrow morning if it should end the way that it's headed now that will give them an argument or a justification to hang in ...
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: Isn't that a nightmare scenario?
SMERCONISH: I think it's a good scenario.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: You're all talking about once. Michael. Sorry. Go ahead Michael.
SMERCONISH: The status quo benefits Trump is my point. The longer that the field stays the way it is ...
AXELROD: Right.
SMERCONISH: ... the better it is for him.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: And I think the irony here is we always talk about how the establishment, you know, caught on to Trump too late and they're now trying to defeat him. The thing is this whole contest was designed to defeat Donald Trump and to benefit Jeb Bush, to benefit Marco Rubio. They designed the calendar to stop an insurgent candidate, because they never imagined a candidate like Trump who really is a unifying force in this party at this point.
He's the one that's doing so well across the board.
AXELROD: Well here's the thing, March 15th, they go to their winner take all rules in some states and if the field doesn't shrink down, that's going to benefit Donald Trump.
COOPER: Right.
HENDERSON: And there's no -- it doesn't look like it will.
COOPER: There's no reason, I mean, and Ted Cruz is not depending how he does in Texas tonight. He's not like -- if he wins, certainly he's not going to pull out.
BORGER: I would think it out.
COOPER: Marco Rubio certainly doesn't seem to be John Kasich, I talked to him yesterday ...
(CROSSTALK)
SMERCONISH: Ted Cruz is going to point to Oklahoma, John Kasich is going to say Ohio is still to come. Marco Rubio is not going home until he notches at least one victory. He hopes in Florida.
HENDERSON: And even Ben Carson looks like he's going to stay in.
BORGER: Look at all the anti-Trump ads you want to run, but until you have another horse to go against Trump. It doesn't -- it's not going to make any difference.
AXELROD: And let us not forget that as he said last week, Ben Carson is not going anywhere.
HENDERSON: Right, exactly.
BORGER: And John Kasich is not going anywhere.
(CROSSTALK)
HENDERSON: It's also not clear that any of these horses are fast enough I mean to beat Donald Trump.
COOPER: And multiple sense as Ben Carson is not going anywhere, is that what you mean Paul Begala?
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: But this is how politicians are wired. They are -- for people that don't follow politics, they're like Lloyd Christmas in "Dumb and Dumber." You know, when the woman says, there's not a one in a million chance, I would ever go, so you're saying there's a chance?
That's how you said it. And we're not going to get out until they run ...
COOPER: What does it say about you that you can actually vote from "Dumb and Dumber?"
BEGALA: Come on.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That destroys my life. One of the things I find remarkable tonight is that we're getting headline -- we're giving headlines to Ted Cruz for winning Texas, there Clinton for winning Arkansas and Bernie Sanders winning Florida -- or Vermont.
I mean, hello. If you can't win your own state, I mean, you know, how are you going to go anywhere else? We're going to get the same headlines. I mean, if Marco Rubio wins Florida and he's way behind in the polls there, where John Kasich wins Ohio, you're supposed to. You're the governor of Ohio, for heavens sakes.
COOPER: Right, yeah.
[20:40:05] BORGER: Anderson, I just got an e-mail from Trump adviser. When we're talking about late deciders who said, late deciders are folks who can't decide which establishment guide it vote for, period.
COOPER: Well, let's go back to Wolf. Wolf?
BLITZER: We're getting ready, we're going to hear from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. But we got a key race alert right now. Some close races under way.
Let's start out in Vermont on the Republican side. Donald Trump is ahead, but only what 9 percent of the vote is in, he's got 33.6 percent. John Kasich 28.7 percent. Marco Rubio 19.2 percent. That's in Vermont.
In Virginia, Donald Trump is ahead, 83 percent of the voters in. He's got 36.3 percent. Rubio, 30.8 percent. Ted Cruz distant third, 16.9 percent.
In Oklahoma, very close contest under way right now. 10 percent of the vote is in. Donald Trump is ahead with 32.4 percent, 29.9 percent for Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio in third place 23.9 percent. That's in Oklahoma.
Texas the biggest prize of the night, they close all the polls at the top of the hour but released numbers so far. Ted Cruz is ahead, it's his home state, 38.7 percent. Donald Trump 28.2, percent in second place, and Marco Rubio in third place with 19.9 percent. They're going to be closing Texas right at the top of the hour. Let see what's going on there.
And let's move on to the Democratic right now. It's a close race in Massachusetts. Look how close it is. Only 4 percent of the vote is in, but Bernie Sanders with 49.6 percent. Hillary Clinton with 49.3 percent. A very close race under way in Massachusetts right now.
In Oklahoma, similarly, 11perecnt of the vote is in. Bernie Sanders maintaining a slight lead 47.5 percent to Hillary Clinton's 44.9 percent. Bernie Sanders spent a lot of time in Oklahoma.
In Texas, Hillary Clinton is doing very well. Fifteen percent of the Democratic primary vote is in, 66.1 percent to Bernie Sander, 32.5 percent. So, Hillary Clinton is doing well. Texas closes all voting right at the top of the hour.
Let's go over to John King for some more analyses. Texas is a state that Hillary Clinton obviously wants. She's racking up significant wins tonight.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. Take a look at the Democratic race in Texas. We're waiting obviously for the El Paso area to close about 15 percent of the vote in, 66 percent. This is what she's look for Wolf. Not only in Texas but across the south.
She wants to be in the 60s. Besides she can't get the 60s because the delegate proportionality rules. She wants to take 60 percent or more of the delegates especially in the bigger states where the basket is bigger obviously.
On the Republican side, you look these raise again early results. But this is what Ted Cruz needs. Yes, Jeffrey Lord was just saying why is a win at home a big deal? About win at home at least gives him rationale to stay in the race. I will wait and see as this fills in, but there already need as quite to help Ted Cruz.
BLITZER: Take a look at neighboring Oklahoma.
KING: Oklahoma has been an interesting race throughout the night on the Republican side. Look at this, 11 percent of the vote, and you've got the tug-of-war mostly between Trump and Cruz at the moment. Rubio a distant third right now, and you got Trump winning in the urban area of Tulsa, the suburbs around where you find most of your Republican voters. There are lot of Republicans across Oklahoma.
Trump as we've seen in just about every states, here a competition with Rubio in Oklahoma County, where Oklahoma City is, out of the suburbs, Rubio with a lead but Trump quite competitive, Cruz right behind that.
So this a -- just an honest to God goodness three way tug-of-war in the state. But Trump with the advantage so far 12 percent. We got a lot of votes to count here. On the Democratic side, lets just take a quick look, this was one of Bernie Sanders big targets. And at the moment he's holding up the lead with 12 percent of the vote in.
But I would say we'll weigh on this one, because if you look at where the population centers are, more votes where the people live. Secretary Clinton is leading on those areas at the moment. So this could be a test of her running it up to the urban -- suburban areas but him running it up everywhere else. We have to watch the map as it plays out.
I was looking right before you came over, my home state of Massachusetts, because this one looks like a good wrestling match at the moment between Sanders on top at the moment, but just barely over Clinton, but just 5 percent of the vote in, Wolf. If you look on what we're missing, we're missing some of the industrial areas, Springfield, and Western Massachusetts where city out there. There also some schools out that way but Western as you move more blue collar, gritty area here.
Bill Clinton was out there last night. He come out this way into the city of Boston, where most of the voters this is god's country right here. George has to pay if he did not know that Wolf.
We're waiting to see how the Boston comes in 9 percent of the state population. So we go a long way to go here in the areas where you find most of your Democrats. Still no votes in.
Bernie Sanders winning up here, not a surprise I guess along the New Hampshire border. He did so well in New Hampshire and obviously tonight winning the state of Vermont.
This will be important for Bernie Sanders, Vermont, New Hampshire, running it up, smaller towns along the top of the border. But if Hillary Clinton is performing well in the cities, it's very important for him to run it up in the smaller towns out there.
BLITZER: Let's take a look on the Republican side, Vermont. Because, it's an interesting race right now.
KING: That's not so interesting on the Democratic side. Bernie Sanders getting what he want at home. But this is relatively close and, 9 percent of the vote in. Donald Trump, though, right now starting to pull out a lead in Vermont.
John Kasich, remember, came in second place in New Hampshire. It was looking tonight for something. They thought it might be in Massachusetts. That looks like a blowout for Trump.
But this one here at the moment, yeah, we'll count the votes as they come in. Just a close race a little bit of Rubio here with mostly Trump-Kasich slugging this one out.
[20:45:04] Only 9 percent Vermont traditionally count slow. So it's just going to have to wait as for this wants to come in.
BLITZER: Trump slightly ahead with only 9 percent of the vote in Vermont. All right, John (inaudible).
Let me go back to Jake for some for some more analysis. Close races but Hillary Clinton, you got to give her credit, she's won several states and Donald Trump has won several states. Bernie Sanders has won his home State of Vermont.
TAPPER: Yeah, Donald Trump if you look at the numbers coming in, it looks like it's entirely -- possible he could win up to 10 contests this evening, maybe even more. Who knows?
When Dana, we're talking before about the upper by some Republican establishment figures and big money people to stop Trump with this Super PAC, tell us more. You have some breaking news on that. BASH: That's right. And as this is going on, as people are watching what seemed to be inevitable, that Donald Trump was going to do well, especially in states that nobody expected a few months ago, there was a call tonight by an anti-Trump Super PAC trying to get more donors on board. And, Jake, you asked me a little bit earlier why now? Which is the obvious question, right?
TAPPER: Because it's a little late.
BASH: It's a little late.
TAPPER: It's a little late.
BASH: And, what I was told by somebody who was on this call tonight is that they tried to get donors. They tried to get people on board. After they felt that they did a pretty good job against Donald Trump on the air in Iowa. He didn't win Iowa, but he won everything after that. But they couldn't get donors on board.
Now that everybody can see what is happening, anybody who doesn't understand it is probably living under a rock, they were able to get a group of, again, about 50 donors, people who were supporting Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and others on this call tonight. They didn't get firm commitments, but a lot of interest and a plan was presented on how they feel that they can still stop Donald Trump, but even the people who I'm talking to who are involved in this effort realize it just going to take nothing short of a miracle to do that because it is so late.
TAPPER: It's very late. And of course, even if they get $100 million to do it, Anderson, nobody has yet found the silver bullet, no one knows how to take down Donald Trump.
COOPER: Right, there's no evidence that there is a way at this point. Paul Begala, you work for a pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC. You know about how Super PAC works. I mean does this surprise you? Do you think it actually can work?
BEGALA: I think Jeffrey said this, and he's exactly right, it's going to help Mr. Trump. Right this -- Dana is the best in the business, so she has good sources. But I wonder if there aren't plans, secret plants from lord land to help Donald Trump, this because ...
LORD: I personally am kicking in a buck to this fund, I mean no question.
BEGALA: Exactly. David Chalian all nice were giving us polling results, Republicans hate the establishment. You know, Bernie Sanders has feel to burn. Donald Trump is burn it to the ground and then spit in the ashes and the establishment is still saying, oh, we'll Super PAC him? Think Jeffery, I think its nuts.
LORD: That's absolutely right. It is totally nuts. And, when you look -- I mean, I have never seen this kind of cluelessness in the time, although I've been in politics, I mean ...
COOPER: You're not a Democrat.
LORD: These people are wandering around, they have no idea what they're doing. They have no idea of the emotions and the thoughts. I mean, when I'm talking to regular folks out there, I mean, this is explosive stuff.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: One thing that's interesting, though, and we were talking before trying to figure out what is this glue? S.E. did a great job of laying out how every single part and bastion of the Republican Party had essentially abandoned the fort to join Donald Trump. I think it's a fear that we have this some very dark emotions there.
COOPER: We got another projection. Let's go to Wolf. Wolf?
BLITZER: We got another major projection right now, another major win. Let's take a look. CNN has this projection.
Donald Trump, we project as the winner in the Virginia Republican Presidential Primary. This is his fifth win of the night. He is the only Republican so far with wins. Let's take a look at the actual votes coming in from Virginia right now.
These are votes that have already been counted. You see Donald Trump way ahead, 84 percent of the vote in. His got 35.9 percent to 31.1 percent for Marco Rubio, 16.9 percent for Ted Cruz. But we have projected now, Virginia, Virginia goes to Donald Trump.
Let's take a look at the states that have been won right now by both of these candidates. All three of them, in fact. Trump wins Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and now Virginia. Five states.
Hillary Clinton wins Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Five states. Bernie Sanders, he wins his home state of Vermont. So, five states for Donald Trump, five states for Hillary Clinton, one state for Bernie Sanders. So far. Anderson?
COOPER: And we're waiting to hear from Hillary Clinton and as well, of course, Donald Trump. Well obviously going to bring you their comments live. But I guess if you're in the Rubio camp, you're looking for some small, something to hold onto. A second-place showing in Virginia in ...
BORGER: Not so much.
COOPER: Well, relatively close to Donald Trump.
BORGER: Yeah. You'll get some doubt. You'll get some, look, I think ...
AXELROD: Maybe that's their idea of the silver bullet, that he's the silver guy. Comes in second all the time.
[20:50:03] BORGER: I think Virginia is a bellwether, this is good for Donald Trump.
COOPER: Right.
BORGER: The Republican establishment lives in Northern Virginia. That is where they reside across the bridge.
AXELROD: In that's where Rubio -- that's the one place where Rubio tonight has rolled up really big numbers.
BORGER: Exactly. So Rubio did well with the establishment, but rural Virginia, Donald Trump. A very important win for him tonight which I think tells you what's going on for the rest of the evening.
I really think you look at it and you say "Marco Rubio had a shot there". Second place, he'll get a bunch of delegates and that's good for him, but it was an opportunity for him that he couldn't quite make happen.
COOPER: But not a surprise.
BORGER: No.
COOPER: I mean nobody went into this thinking Rubio was going to win any place tonight.
BORGER: Right. I mean, look, right. While Rubio and Kasich wanted to make inroads in Virginia with delegates and they might -- and they might well do that. But I think doing well in Virginia means that the rest of the night, as we've seen so far, is going to be very good for Donald.
COOPER: The big question, of course, remains Texas and where that breaks.
BORGER: That's right.
AXELROD: I don't want to jump ahead to the general election, but the one thing that ...
BORGER: You're so eager.
AXELROD: The one thing that was interesting about Virginia was it is a swing state, or it has been, and this is one place where -- when people are asked. Would they be satisfied with their choice? Donald Trump didn't do as well as Marco Rubio. Donald Trump didn't even get a majority, at least in the exit polls on that particular question. And that may bode some problems for him down the line.
COOPER: When you think about this in general -- when you think of a general election between a Donald Trump and a Hillary Clinton. I mean it's just going to be scorched earth? Is it going to be ...
BORGER: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: You got -- you had two candidates who are highly, highly unpopular. And I think that Hillary Clinton may see Donald Trump as her greatest gift and he may see her the same way. I think you're going to see very, very harsh language, harsh commercials. I don't think this is ...
SARAH ELIZABETH CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, it's going to be ugly.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: It's going to be, like, I mean, you know that loony tunes character, the Tasmanian devil? That's kind of ...
COOPER: Hillary Clinton now going to -- at her headquarters there in Miami, Florida. She's just about to appear. Let's listen in to the crowd reception and her speech.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Thank you all so much.
Thank you. Thank you all so much. What a Super Tuesday. You know, all across our country today, Democrats voted to break down barriers so we can all rise together, and -- I am so delighted to be here with you in Florida.
I congratulate Senator Sanders on his strong showing and campaigning and I'm grateful to all of you who voted for me. To the volunteers and organizers, I know you've worked your hearts out. And to all my friends, many of a lifetime who traveled to all the states to tell people about the candidate they knew. And to the hundreds of thousands of people who went to hillaryclinton.com to give what they could, most less than $100.
Now this campaign moves forward to the crescent city, the motor city, and beyond. We're going to work for every vote and we will need all of you to keep volunteering, contributing, doing everything you can, talking to your friends and neighbors because this country belongs to all of us, not just those at the top. Not just to people who look one way, worship one way, or even think one way.
America prospers when we all prosper. America is strong when we're all strong. And we know we've got work to do. But that work, that work is not to make America great again. America never stopped being great. We -- we have to make America whole.
[20:55:02] We have to fill in, fill in what's been hollowed out.
You know, we have to make strong the broken places, re-stitch the bonds of trust and respect across our country. Now, it might be unusual as I've said before, for a presidential candidate to say this, but I'm going to keep saying it. I believe what we need in America today is more love and kindness.
Because you know what -- you know what, it works. Instead of building walls, we're going to break down barriers and build -- build ladders of opportunity and empowerment, so every American can live up to his or her potential because then, and only then, can America live up to its full potential, too. Now, it's clear tonight that the stakes in this election have never been higher. And the rhetoric we're hearing on the other side has never been lower. Trying to divide America between us and them is wrong, and we're not going to let it work.
You know, whether we like it or not, we're all in this together, my friends. And we all have to do our part. But unfortunately, too many of those with the most wealth and the most power in this country today seem to have forgotten that basic truth about America.
You know, yesterday I was at the old south meeting house in Boston where nearly two and half centuries ago American patriots organized the original Tea Party. And I had to wonder what they would make of corporations that seem to have absolutely no loyalty to the country that gave them so much.
What would they say about student loan companies that overcharge young people struggling to get out of debt? Even young men and women serving our country in the military or corporations that shift their headquarters overseas to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Like Johnson controls, and auto parts company from Wisconsin, that all of us, we taxpayers, helped to bail out with the auto rescue back in 2008. Now they're turning their back on America.
Now, I'm not interested in condemning whole categories of people or businesses. I'm just interested in making things right. So let there be no doubt, if you cheat your employees, exploit consumers, pollute our environment, or rip off the taxpayers, we're going to hold you accountable.
But if you do the right thing, if you invest in your workers and in America's future, then we'll stand with you. We all need to work together to break down the barriers holding back our families and our country because the middle class needs a raise.
And more good jobs. Jobs that pay enough for a family to live on even put a little away for retirement. Jobs that provide dignity and a bright future that's why we have to invest in manufacturing and infrastructure and small business and clean energy, enough clean energy to power every home in America.
Don't let anybody tell you we can't make things in America anymore, because we can, we are, and we will. And together we can break down the barriers that face working-class families across America, especially in struggling rust belt communities and small Appalachian towns that have been hollowed out by lost jobs and lost hope.
[21:00:09] Families who for generations kept our lights on and our factories running. T
