Trump Takes 7 States; Cruz Wins 3

Donald Trump had his expected strong night on Super Tuesday, but he didn't post a clean sweep. He won seven states—Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, and Vermont—but Ted Cruz defeated him in the senator's own home state of Texas, in neighboring Oklahoma and in Alaska, reports CNN. The Oklahoma win was a surprise and gives Cruz at least as strong a claim to be the "Trump alternative" as Marco Rubio, writes Nicholas Confessore at the New York Times.

"This has been an amazing evening," Trump told supporters, describing himself as a "unifier." "Once we get all of this finished, I am going to go after one person: Hillary Clinton," he vowed. Rubio, meanwhile, scored his first victory with a win in Minnesota and finished a strong second in Virginia, perhaps buoyed by Democrats voting for him in the open primary, notes Vox. But overall, he fared poorly in the South, where evangelicals and conservative voters chose Trump, reports the Washington Post. The brightest spot for John Kasich was Vermont, where he came a close second. He also came a distant second in Massachusetts, while Ben Carson failed to crack the top three in any state. Click here for Democratic results. (More Super Tuesday stories.)