Sanders Wins Surprise Victory In Michigan, Trump Keeps Winning

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Bernie Sanders breathed new life into his long-shot White House bid with a crucial win in Michigan’s primary Tuesday night, chipping away at Hillary Clinton’s dominance in the Democratic presidential race. Republican Donald Trump swept to victory in both Michigan and Mississippi, overcoming fierce efforts to blunt his momentum.

Even with Sanders’ win, 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. Trump, too, padded his lead over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, his closest rival.

The front-runners turned their sights on November as they reveled in their wins.

“We are better than what we are being offered by the Republicans,” Clinton declared.

In a nod toward the kind of traditional politics he’s shunned, Trump emphasized the importance of helping Republican senators and House members get elected in the fall. Having entered Tuesday’s contests facing a barrage of criticism from rival candidates and outside groups, he also delighted in overcoming the attacks.

“Every single person who has attacked me has gone down,” Trump said at one of his Florida resorts. He was flanked by tables packed with his retail products, including steaks, bottled water and wine, and defended his business record more thoroughly than he outlined his policy proposals for the country.

Sanders, meanwhile, said Michigan signaled that his campaign “is strong in every part of the country, and frankly we believe our strongest areas are yet to happen.”

While a handful of recent losses to Cruz have raised questions about Trump’s durability, Tuesday’s contests marked another lost opportunity for rivals desperate to stop his march to the nomination. Next week’s winner-take-all contests in Ohio and Florida loom large as perhaps the last chance to block him short of a contested convention fight.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich was in a fight with Cruz for second place in Michigan and hoping a good showing would give him a boost heading into next week’s crucial contest in his home state.

For Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a favorite of Republican elected officials, Tuesday marked the latest in a series of disappointing nights. He emerged from Michigan and Mississippi with no new delegates.

Rubio insisted he would press on to his home state’s primary in Florida next Tuesday.

“It has to happen here, and it has to happen now,” Rubio told supporters during a rally in Sarasota.