FOR THE WIN Sen. Bernie Sanders rallies supporters upon his arrival at a campaign rally in Miami on聽Tuesday. The Vermont official scored a surprise win in Michigan over rival Hillary Clinton in the聽Democratic presidential primaries. AP
LANSING, Michigan鈥擝ernie Sanders breathed new life into his long shot White House bid with a crucial win in Michigan鈥檚 primary, chipping away at Hillary Clinton鈥檚 dominance in the Democratic presidential race.
Republican Donald Trump, however, swept to victory in Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii, overcoming fierce efforts to blunt his momentum.
Even with Sanders鈥� win on Tuesday night, Clinton and Trump moved closer to a general election face-off.
Clinton breezed to an easy victory in Mississippi, propelled by overwhelming support from black voters, and she now has more than half the delegates she needs to clinch the Democratic nomination at the party鈥檚 national convention in July.
Trump, too, padded his lead over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Trump entered Tuesday鈥檚 contests facing questions about his durability and ended the night with convincing victories in primaries in Mississippi and Michigan and in caucuses in Hawaii. Cruz added a win in Idaho, bolstering his case that he鈥檚 the only candidate who can beat Trump with some regularity.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio suffered another brutal drubbing, failing to pick up any delegates in Michigan and Mississippi. He faces a critical contest in Florida next week.
Similarly, Ohio Gov. John Kasich desperately needs to win his home state next Tuesday to stay in the race.
Kasich finished third in Michigan, behind Trump and Cruz. It wasn鈥檛 the boost he was looking for heading into next week鈥檚 crucial contest in his home state.
No stopping Trump
With the prospect of a Trump nomination growing more likely, rival campaigns and outside groups have significantly stepped up efforts to discredit the real estate mogul.
But the flood of attacks on Trump鈥檚 business record and temperament have failed to slow his rise.
鈥淓very single person who has attacked me has gone down,鈥� Trump said at one of his Florida resorts.
He was flanked by tables packed with his branded retail products, including steaks, bottled water and wine, and defended his business record more thoroughly than he outlined his policy proposals for the country.
While a handful of recent losses to Cruz have raised questions about Trump鈥檚 standing, Tuesday鈥檚 contests marked another lost opportunity for rivals desperate to stop the billionaire鈥檚 march to the nomination.
Next week鈥檚 winner-take-all contests in Ohio and Florida loom as perhaps the last chance to block Trump short of a contested convention fight.
Running out of options
Rubio, whose appeal with party leaders hasn鈥檛 been reciprocated by voters, insisted he would press on to Florida.
If Rubio and Kasich can鈥檛 win in their home states, the Republican primary contest appears set to become a two-person race between Trump and Cruz.
The Texas senator is sticking close in the delegate count, and with seven states in his win column he has argued he鈥檚 the only candidate standing between the brash billionaire and the Republican nomination.
Some mainstream Republicans have cast both Trump and Cruz, an uncompromising conservative, as unelectable in a November face-off with the Democratic nominee.
But they鈥檙e quickly running out of options鈥攁nd candidates鈥攖o prevent one of the men from becoming the Republican standard-bearer.
Economy
The economy ranked high on the list of concerns for voters in Michigan and Mississippi.
At least 8 in 10 in each party鈥檚 primary said they were worried about where the American economy is heading, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
Among Democrats, 8 in 10 voters in both states said the country鈥檚 economic system benefits the wealthy, not all Americans.
Sanders has sought to tap into that concern, energizing young people and white, working-class voters with his calls for breaking up Wall Street banks and making tuition free at public colleges and universities.
Michigan, with big college towns and a sizeable population of working-class voters, was a good fit for him, though his victory there was something of a surprise given that Clinton had led in polls heading into Tuesday鈥檚 voting.
Still, Sanders has struggled mightily with black voters who are crucial to Democrats in the general election.
In Mississippi, black voters comprised about two-thirds of the Democratic electorate and nearly 9 in 10 backed Clinton.
鈥楧oing very well鈥�
Clinton glossed over her contest with Sanders as she addressed supporters on Tuesday night, choosing instead to focus her attention on Republicans and the general election.
鈥淲e are better than what we are being offered by the Republicans,鈥� she declared.
Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, said Michigan signaled 鈥渢hat we are a national campaign鈥� after wins in different regions of the country.
鈥淎s more people get to know more about who we are and what our views are, we鈥檙e going to do very well,鈥� the Vermont senator said in a statement.
After Tuesday鈥檚 results, Clinton has accumulated 1,214 delegates and Sanders 566, including superdelegates鈥攎embers of Congress, governors and party officials who can support the candidate of their choice at the convention. A total of 2,383 delegates are needed to win the Democratic nomination.
With Tuesday鈥檚 wins, Trump leads the Republican field with 446 delegates, followed by Cruz with 347, Rubio with 151 and Kasich with 54. Winning the Republican nomination requires 1,237 delegates.聽聽 AP