massachusetts, for example. trump won a total of 7 states, far outpacing his republican rivals. senator ted cruz won three states including his home state of texas. senator marco rubio notched his only win so far in minnesota. on the democratic side, hillary clinton took seven supertuesday states. senator bernie sanders won four states including his home state of vermont. but winning the nomination, comes down to delegates, so let's take a close look at where things stand right now among delegates. among the republicans, donald trump leads with 315 delegates, ted cruz with 2205, marco rubio with 126. on hillary clinton has 1055 delegates, bernie sanders has 418 delegates. the candidates will have a chance to add to their totals this coming saturday, republicans hold elections in kansas, kentucky, louisiana and maine, democrats go to the polls in kansas, louisiana, and nebraska. we'll have all day coverage on saturday right here on cnn. >>> donald trump is vowing to unify republicans after his dominance on supertuesday. >> i'm a unifier, i know people are going to find that a little bit hard to b

of dramatic to lose one. it's also dramatic to lose people from the republican race right now, to keep poofing people off what started as a giant roster of candidates because now we're starting to think seriously about the prospect that maybe the republican party will poof everybody off this list. that they will not just get down to one, they will get down to none. i mean, it is a fairly open discussion in some republican party circles right now about whether the republican party will add a new potential nominee to the mix at their convention in cleveland. somebody who's not been running in the race already for the past year. it's hard to believe you can't find one person you like out of 17 candidates, but they really might try to find the one republican who didn't actually find time to run for president this year and might give the nomination to that person instead because they don't like any of the 17. today former republican house speaker john boehner said in ohio that he would be happy to go with that kind of a plan. john boehner has just said that if none of the remaining can

showdown with senate republicans. gop leaders have vowed not to consider any nominee sent their way. republicans instead say the next president should fill the vacancy. good wednesday morning to you. i'm jose diaz-balart from bayside marketplace in miami. we're here covering last night's primary results. we'll get to all that in a moment. first, very busy morning in washington. ron allen is at the white house. ron, good morning. so what do we know? >> well, we know that in about an hour, we will know who the president's nominee is for the supreme court vacancy. a huge decision for president obama. a huge partisan fight that's been brewing for the past month or so while he's been deliberating this decision since the death of justin antonin scalia. now, this morning, the president finally released an e-mail note, o outlining some of what he's been thinking about. here's part of what it had to d say. in putting forward a nominee today, i'm fulfilling my constitutional duty. i'm doing my job. i hope our senators will do their jobs and move quickly to consider my nominee. that's what the

state of wisconsin held its first republican presidential primary. 104 years ago on this april 3rd is the anniversary of that. the state republican voters in 1912 could have chosen the man already president, republican william howard taft. they would have picked teddy roosevelt. wisconsin voters didn't go with one of those two options. they went with this guy, robert laf lafoliet known as fighting bob. this was back in the days when it wasn't unusual for a republican to be a lot more liberal than a democrat. there were few as liberal has fighting bob lafoliet. he won 73% of the vote in the wisconsin primary. they chose him three times in republican presidential primaries. although he never did come anywhere near winning the republican presidential nomination. wisconsin voters sent him to the u.s. senate for 20 years. they also sent his son to the senate for another 20 years. he wasn't just a beloved figure inside wisconsin. in his final presidential run in the year 1924, that year he ran as the candidate of the progressive party, a third party nationally. that year he won 17% of the n

investments in programs that we know will work, and republicans blocked it, so that kind of blocking when it comes to a major priority, i think, leads to some of that frustration. >> one more thing about hillary clinton now. you endorsed her more than a -- almost a year ago. >> april, yeah. >> very early on in the process. do you feel that maybe joe biden is somehow waiting in the wings just in case this e-mail thing becomes such a problem that even her as the nominee wouldn't be able to go forward? >> i'm not a believer in waiting-in-the-wings strategies or scenarios. i think hillary's gonna be the nominee, for sure, and i think she's gonna be the president, for sure -- not without a challenge, not without a tough fight. pennsylvania will be central to what will happen in the general election. we also will have a primary debate here, as well, i believe, but i think she's gonna win. >> pennsylvania primary is later this month. big race here is the race for u.s. senate. we know pat toomey will be the republican nominee. three people are some of the big contenders to run against him. would you

>> i was one of four still standing. marco rubio did indeed place in the top four in the republican party primary. that is awesome for him. as i said, though, not a man to be humbled by what he just went through. that does it for us tonight. one of the top 18 programs airing on basic cable at 9:00 p.m. check your local listings. we'll see you again tomorrow. now it's time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. >> wouldn't you like to have a job that included something called recess? >> yes. not since fifth grade. >> why don't we try that. i don't know 1:30 every day recess. >> i would settle for lunch. if we could have lunch and recess, i would take it. >> me too. thank you. >>> as predicted right here republicans are finally using abraham lincoln against donald trump. >> a new group of conservatives scrambled to stop donald trump at all costs. >> paul ryan acknowledging that the convention could be open in cleveland. >> to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable. if he can do it without riots in the streets the other candidates can do it as well. >> any effort to help

. we need to talk about our colors. let's go down to the republican race because this really has dominated our time tonight. that's a pile of states as the now part of the trump empire, as diverse as arkansas, vermont, georgia, massachusetts, virginia, tennessee, and alabama. that's a diverse pile of states. ted cruz, not so much. rubio, not so much. the maligned, misunderstood, some would say, minnesota caucus tonight. and that is the story of super tuesday 2016. s as full of on defeats and victories and intrigue as we all kind of thought it would be. >> there's also one other big story line out of super tuesday. and we can sort of see this coming with all the races that led up to tonight. and it is the issue of -- republicans are very excited about what is going on and democrats are not. heading into tonight, we had already seen democratic turnout down in all fours states where democrats voted thus far. down 27% from 2008 in iowa. down 13% in nevada, down about 30% in south carolina. in contrast, tonight we can now say that 14 of the 15 republican states that have voted so far

. >> [inaudible] [laughter] read tide arrives at donald trump to the republican leadership in a speech at the center for american progress in washington, d.c.. he said republican leaders created the drought conditions donald trump simply struck the match. this is about 15 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. happy st. patrick's day. we are honored to have you here for an important event for what is happening in the politics today. just before president obama's second inauguration, and the berlitz published this fitting headline, quote, republicans accuse obama of using positioned to lead the country. and this sums up where we've been the last several years. we have had a year after his year in which republican politics has been a contest for who can see no the say no the fastest, the loudest and the longest with no regard to reason or the best interest of the country particularly over the past 24 hours in response to the supreme court. truthfully, we've seen that the moment the american people elected barack obama they made it there reason for everything the president proposed for you to be mi

with washington post columnist talking with fox news about republican politics. we finish up primetime with 11:00 p.m. program with a history of the washington monument. that that all happens tonight on c-span2, but to be. the first step in primetime here is eric erickson. >> our next guest is eric erickson. he is co-author of you will be made to care, the war on faith, family, and your freedom to believe. he is also cofounder and editor of right state. he is now at the resurgent witches ache conservative news website. thank you for joining us. >> things were having me. >> let's start with the news of the day the fact that chris christie has come out in support of donald trump. what does this mean for donald trump? >> i think it will build his moment and with some. chris christie was on the campaign trail. he supported abortion rights for a long time, got hit by a number of the things, was too was too liberal for most of the base of the party. i do not note that is an adjustment donald trump needed going into the southern states. we he may needed to hold it but i think he needed to cha

, brooke. he's looking towards a future with republican nominee. and to give you some sense of maybe how he's thinking today, he tweeted this out just yesterday. gandhi quote where they said first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. maybe a little peek in donald trump's mind as he gets going here in kentucky and on to florida to watch these results roll in, brooke. >> chris frakes, thank you. what are voters in virginia telling you? >> brooke, a lot of voters are saying they're going against their traditional voting patterns. here are some sample ballots. this is the republican ballot, democratics here. especially for candidates like rubio and sanders on the democratic side. because there are a lot of first-time primary voters here. a lot of crossover voters. sanders and rubio benefit from those. you don't have to register by party. then you vote by paper over here. side step these voters here. you vote by paper behind these partitions. then the vote gets tabulated here. the reason we're watching this so much, sample balloting when people come

unprecedented fight. >> republicans think the people deserve a voice in this critical decision. the president does not. message from the american people to senate republicans is simple. do your job. >> will the president's nominee get a hearing let alone a vote? on the campaign trail, hillary clinton and donald trump sweep. closer tomoving securing the democratic party nomination and winning this election in november! [cheering] >> we're going to go forward. and we're gonna win. more importantly, we're going to win for the country. >> marco rubio is swept out of the race. after losing his home state. john kasich plot their way to a contested convention. to gainht we continue delegates and continue our march to 1237. >> we are gonna go all the way to cleveland and secure the republican nomination! side, bernieocrat sanders declares he is not quitting. think we've got a path toward victory! can bring out large turnouts, we're gonna win this thing. week, pete the williams, justice correspondent for nbc news. chief white house correspondent for the new york times. national tumulty, poli

>>> this sunday. the republican establishment has tried persuasion. >> mr. trump is a con man, a fake. >> it's tried schoolyard tactics. >> and you know what they say about men with small hands. >> and still, donald trump keeps winning. but last night, more ugliness at a rally. [ shouting ] >> as trump warns of violence if he's denied the nomination. >> i think you'd have riots. >> but can he stopped? democrats cry foul. john kasich joins me. plu the battle over the supreme court. the republicans say no hearing about democrats cry foul. >> the senate will continue to observe the biden rule so that the american people have a voice in this momentous decision. >> why can't they do what they're supposed to, do their jobs? >> mitch mcconnell and harry reid exclusively join me. >>> do you like buzzer beaters like this one from friday night? well, we've got the trump-atology buzzer beater possibilities for what could be a wild republican national convention. joining me are jose diaz-balart of telemundo and nbc news, molly ball, joy ann reid, and robert costa of the "washington post." we

republican conventions, you know that the leader going in only got picked three times. again, john, i have to tell you that who is going to win in the fall? who is going to beat hillary? these other folks can't win. they can't win ohio. but in addition look at the resume. look at the record, who actually can fix this country, what can get us moving again both domestically and with foreign policy. that should be a consideration now, it's not much of one to be honest with you. but when we get to a convention, i was there when ronald reagan actually challenged gerald ford. how many people were mad at reagan? his message mattered. he came close, ultimately became one of the greatest presidents we've ever had. the convention is a very interesting thing and delegates take things extremely seriously. let me also tell you, john, if somebody can get the numbers they would win. they're not going to get the numbers. everybody chill out. >> dickerson: some people suggested you to drop out to get the numbers because ted cruz is closer to that number than you are. >> he needs 80% of the votes to get it

huge win in south carolina. down ticket on the republican side or down the field, honestly, the really tight races tonight, look, at least according to the polls, look like the races for second place in a whole bunch of southern states, where ted cruz and marco rubio are fighting basically to lose the best to donald trump. because the party wants to settle, the party elites want to settle on somebody who is not donald trump to go against him. those two candidates tonight are going to be fighting to see who is best positioned as a non-winner in the republican side. it's just phenomenal. >> geographically and numerically, they'll close at 10:00 p.m. eastern time. don't mess with texas, which few people know, started out as a keep america beautiful marketing phrase and got kind of hijacked. >> antilitter campaign. >> that's right. got hijacked as. chris matthews standing by in houston. give us your best prognosis. you get to cover this again tonight in the field. >> we have a great crowd at the smokehouse. i think that if you watch cruz tonight, i think it's sort of a win/win for d

republican front-runner, i mean people would have l lghed at you. i mean his brazen campaign, it has been anything but ordinary. but for trump it is working. >> reporter: when donald trump descended on a presidential race last june. >> i will build a great, great wall. bid for the white house quickly became a late night punchline. >> donald trump announced today he is running for president of the united states. which by the way traditionally means six more weeks of comedy. >> only losers walk. presidents take stair force one. within weeks, truru soared to ththtop of the republican polls. and no candidate or controversy has been able to topple him. >> they're bringing drugs. they're bringing crime. >> reporter: he has taken aim at mexican immigrants. >> they're rapists, some i assume are good people. >> reporter: he criticized senator john mccain. >> he is a war hero because he was s ptured the i look people who weren't captured. hate to till you. >> reporte battled with journalist megyn kelly. >> you call wom you don't like, fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals. your twitter acco

winning ohio, the republican hopeful for president, john kasich, came to the philadelphia area to villanova, got a roaring reception. lots of folks are also coming to this area to try to court all of those delegates that are up for grabs. it's about three weeks away, but, nonetheless, pennsylvania could really make or break this race. it's a very important time and an interesting twist to how things have turned out. what do you make of it? >> well, i think that it's very interesting, the fact that -- and dom, i know, knows this better than i do about the number of people on the republican side that are uncommitted as delegates, so the whole sort of election process itself seems really interesting, but i thought it was also interesting also that former governor dick thornburgh endorsed kasich. he likes governors. so the fact that the establishment, republican establishment in pennsylvania ultimately might go with kasich. >> and so 71 is the magic number for republicans. some are uncommitted. some are open. >> 54 of them are, and the thing that's driven my radio show -- this is how

, republicans, too close to call between trump and cruz. at this hour, that just got updated, it remains the same. and for the democratic primary in the state of missouri, it is too early to call between clinton and sanders. that's the big board, now 8:01 eastern time. >> a significant win for hillary clinton in florida and a significant win for donald trump in florida. a significant win for donald trump means a very, very, very significant loss for marco rubio in his home state of florida and he now becomes the next big shoe about the drop. >> chris matthews is in ohio, that's the state getting so much attention tonight. we have yet to call or project a winner there, dhas where the hopes and dreams of john kasich are resting. it would actually end some of this that's going on in this country, it might be a clinton ok- kasich ticket, which is surprising. it won't be donald trump for a general election. if hillary clinton were smart, she would make herself -- it's so as you guys have been saying all night. cruz is the one, cruz is much stronger than kasich, even after tonight, esp

kasich are the last candidates standing in a republican field that once numbered 17. some big wins on tuesday solidified donald trump's status as the clear front-runner, and the billionaire businessman thinks he can close the deal by the republican convention in july. >> i do want to finish this off. i'm dealing with two smart, tough guys, and i want to make sure i end up winning. i'm pretty good as getting to finish lines. >> but opponents argue his path to the nomination is far from straight. the delegate math far from clear, and party leaders this week said they're bracing for the possibility that the fight could go all the way to cleveland. >> there's more likely to become an open convention than we thought before. so we're getting our minds around the idea this could very well become a reality and therefore those of us involved in the convention need to respect that. >> joining the panel this week, "wall street journal" column it's and deputy editor dan headinger, and kim stossel, james freeman, and former "wall street journal" editorial board member and fox news contributor s

the way to cleveland and secure the republican nomination. martha: where i this whole thing headed? senator ted cruz still hoping for a win in missouri. boy, is that a squeaker. cruz says he's going forward. he believes the mom nation is between himself and donald trump. >> tonight we continue to gain delegates and continue our march toward 1,237. after tonight america has a clear choice going forward. martha: tucker carlson is standing by with his analysis of last night. reporter: can there are might want this to be a two-man race, but john kasich has other ideas. he's planning on staying in this at least through the end of april. the pennsylvania victory would almost double his delegate count. he says he's going to keep going. continuing his theme of running a positive political campaign. >> i want to remind you again tonight that i will not take the low road to the highest office in the land. we have got one more trip around ohio this coming fall where we'll beat hillary clinton and i will become the president of the united states. reporter: it was a huge night for donald trump,

his rivals to the sidelines. is he the republican's presumptive nominee? >>> all out war. republicans soul searching about what their party stands for and against. >>> breaking news a counter attack from mitt romney and gop establishment wing. >>> hillary's run. hillary clinton scores big on super tuesday as she begins looking ahead. is she in danger of overlooking senator bernie sanders should he keep on fighting? >>> shocking video shows a high school student getting slapped and kicked bay man in uniform bhop are they? is it another case of police excessive force? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news of the presidential race. despite donald trump calling himself a unifier after winning seven super tuesday states he's facing a revolt within the republican party. plin mitt romney preparing to make a rare public appearance. he plans to attack trump, said sources. dr. ben carson announcing he sees no political path forward and will skip the next republican debate. on the democratic side of the race,

republican nomination outright. listen. >> i think we'll win before getting to the convention, but if we didn't, and if we're 20 votes short or if we're a hundred short and we're at 1100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400, because we're way ahead of everybody, i don't think you can say that we don't get it automatically. i think you would have riots. >> some are suggesting mr. trump was just speaking figuratively. speaker of the house paul ryan is not amused. >> nobody should say such things in my opinion, because to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable. >> with trump's warning echoing across the media, we are seeing new reports that the republican national committee may ditch its massive rule book in favor of a "simpler plan" in what critics are calling an effort to head off the effort to stop trump. ben dominich has been writing on this issue. david wolf is a trump supporter. ben, what is the rnc preparing to do? they say we just want to make it more transparent, that's all. and that's a good thing. >> the rnc is considering a suggestion that traps they should shift to robe

republican, you are criticize because you are compromised moving to the middle. bernie sanders look is to the far lef. he was like he will not get the nomination. we write about that in this book. the book is made up of some of the top scholars in the world writing about polarization for the media, the judiciary, the voters, in congress, and state legislatures. it is the first time we have all of that together. no one has brought it all together. we do that in this book. host: speaking about state issues, you and your colleagues write this. guest: we have all kinds of unintended consequences when reform occurs. i think that what is happening overall the state level is the party'she dominant redistricting in a way for state, senate, and house seats to make sure they continue to dominate. until we have another census, we will not see that change. i accuse both parties of doing that. no one is out there saying let us have more competitive districts. by the way, other nations do this. canadated kingdom and and new zealand and australia have commissions that do redistricting. they have e