Cruz gains ground on Trump

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UPDATE: Ted Cruz and Donald Trump each captured two states Saturday, turning the battle for the Republican nomination for president into what looks more and more like a two-man race.

Cruz won decisive victories in the Kansas and Maine caucuses, while Trump narrowly edged Cruz in Kentucky and Louisiana. The senator from Texas called Saturday’s results “a manifestation of a real shift in momentum.”

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida had a disappointing day, finishing third in Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana, while dropping to fourth behind Ohio Gov. John Kasich in Maine. Rubio failed to reach the minimum vote percentage threshold to earn any delegates in Louisiana and Maine.

(Editor’s note: Rubio won the Republican primary in Puerto Rico on Sunday, winning more than 50 percent of the votes, which earned him all 23 of the territory’s delegates.)

In a late Saturday evening press conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., Trump called for Rubio to drop out.

“I would like to take on Ted one-on-one,” Trump said. “That would be so much fun.”

Cruz, who was campaigning Saturday night in Idaho, which has its caucuses on Tuesday, said Saturday’s results should send a loud message that the race is far from over.

Cruz also suggested that Rubio should leave the race, as well as Kasich: “As long as the field remains divided, it gives Donald an advantage.”

Both Rubio and Kasich have vowed to stay in the race, at least until they have competed in their home states on March 15.

In the battle for delegates, Cruz picked up 64 delegates to Trump’s 49 in Saturday’s contests. Rubio brought home 13, while Kasich collected nine. According to The Associated Press late Saturday, the overall delegate count is Trump at 378, Cruz at 295, Rubio at 123, and Kasich at 34. The first to 1,237 wins the nomination.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders performed well in Saturday’s two caucus states, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 13 points in Nebraska and a whopping 36 points in Kansas. Clinton, meanwhile easily won the Louisiana primary 71 percent to 23 percent over Sanders.

Clinton picked up 65 delegates to Sanders’ 47 in Saturday's contests, according to AP tallies. Overall, Clinton has 1,121 delegates to Sanders’ 479, which includes superdelegates. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.

Clinton and Sanders will also face off Sunday in the Maine Democratic caucuses. Visit WORLD’s Election Center ’16 for updates.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (Saturday, 11:53 a.m.): Following a strong finish by Republican front-runner Donald Trump in the Super Tuesday contests, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas are looking to catch up.

Today, voters in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Maine will make their choice for the Republican presidential nominee. Democrats in Nebraska will join those in Kansas and Louisiana in casting ballots for their candidate. Democratic voters in Maine will caucus on Sunday.

Going into today, Trump has 329 delegates; Cruz has 231; and Rubio has 110. The eventual nominee will need to secure 1,237 delegates to win the nomination.

The Democratic field is much less evenly divided, with Hillary Clinton sure of 1,058 delegates to Sen. Bernie Sanders' 431. The eventual Democratic nominee needs to win 2,383 delegates to carry the convention.

Keep up with both parties’ delegate counts with WORLD’s Delegate Tracker. And visit WORLD’s Election Center ’16 this weekend, where our interactive maps will track the real-time results from each state.

Kansas caucuses

Cruz takes the Sunflower State, capturing nearly 50 percent of the vote; Sanders wins another caucus state

11:18 p.m.—Bernie Sanders picked up 23 delegates in Kansas, while Hillary Clinton captured 11.

10:01 p.m. EST—Bernie Sanders won his second caucus state of the night, capturing 68 percent of the vote in Kansas.

9:50 p.m. EST—Ted Cruz won 24 of the 40 delegates awarded in Kansas. Donald Trump picked up nine, while Marco Rubio picked up six and John Kasich one.

7:42 p.m. EST—With 100 percent of the votes counted in Kansas, Ted Cruz finishes 25 percentage points ahead of Donald Trump, with Cruz ending up just shy of 50 percent of the votes cast. The final tallies are Cruz at 48 percent, Trump at 23 percent, Marco Rubio at 17 percent, and John Kasich at 11 percent.

5:50 p.m. EST—Ted Cruz, speaking at a campaign event in Idaho, touted his projected win in Kansas and his lead in Maine over Donald Trump: “People are waking up.”

5:37 p.m. EST—Major media outlets, including The Associated Press, have projected Ted Cruz as the winner of the Kansas Republican caucuses.

5:12 p.m. EST—With nearly a third of the votes counted in the Kansas GOP race, Ted Cruz is leading with 49 percent of the vote, followed by Donald Trump at 26 percent, Marco Rubio at 14 percent, and John Kasich at 10 percent.

4:24 p.m. EST—The Democratic caucuses have concluded in Kansas.

3:13 p.m. EST—The Republican caucuses have ended in Kansas, and early results are now coming in. Visit WORLD’s Election Center ’16 for the latest updates.

Kansas sends 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention.

The Democratic caucuses ended at 3 p.m. CST. Thirty-seven delegates from Kansas are up for grabs.

Kentucky Republican caucuses

Trump narrowly wins the Bluegrass State

11:21 p.m. EST—In the battle for delegates, Donald Trump picked up 15, Ted Cruz 13, Marco Rubio seven, and John Kasich five.

10:48 p.m. EST—The Associated Press calls Kentucky for Donald Trump.

9:28 p.m. EST—Donald Trump is the early leader in Kentucky, holding a 9-point margin over Ted Cruz with a little more than a third of the voting tabulated.

7:30 p.m. EST—Results are now coming in from Kentucky, which held its first-ever Republican caucuses today. Visit WORLD’s Election Center ’16 for the latest updates.

Kentucky sends 46 delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Louisiana primary

Clinton and Trump win their respective primaries in the Bayou State

11:22 p.m. EST—Donald Trump received 13 delegates to Ted Cruz’s 11 in Louisiana. Marco Rubio and John Kasich did not receive a high enough percentage of the vote to win any delegates.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton claimed 37 delegates to Bernie Sanders’ eight.

9:25 p.m. EST—The Associated Press projects Donald Trump as the winner in Louisiana.

9:18 p.m. EST—The polls have closed in Louisiana and The Associated Press projects former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will win. On the Republican side, Donald Trump leads in the early returns.

The state Democratic Party awards 59 delegates, while Republicans sends 46 delegates to its national convention.

Maine Republican caucuses

Cruz wins Maine, picks up 12 delegates

8:52 p.m. EST—Ted Cruz has won the Republican caucuses in Maine with 46 percent of the vote, finishing ahead of Donald Trump at 33 percent, John Kasich at 12 percent, and Marco Rubio at 8 percent. Trump 13-point loss comes despite the endorsement of Maine Gov. Paul LePage.

Delegates from Maine are awarded proportionally to candidates receiving at least 10 percent of the vote. Cruz was awarded 12 delegates, Trump nine, and Kasich two. Rubio doesn’t meet the vote percentage threshold and receives none.

5:15 p.m. EST—Results have begun to trickle in from the Maine Republican caucuses and show Ted Cruz taking an early lead.

Maine sends 23 delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Nebraska Democratic caucuses

Sanders wins big in the Cornhusker State

9:55 p.m. EST—Self-proclaimed democratic-socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has won the Nebraska Democratic caucuses over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. With 75 percent of the vote tabulated, Sanders won 55 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 45 percent.

Nebraska’s Democratic Party awards 36 delegates to the national convention.

Maine Democratic caucuses

Sanders soundly defeats Clinton in Maine

Monday, 6:27 a.m. EST—Bernie Sanders won the Maine caucuses handily on Sunday with 64 percent of the vote. In a tentative allocation of delegates, he picks up 16 to Hillary Clinton’s 10.