Mega Tuesday primaries as it happened: Clinton sweeps, while Trump and Kasich split Florida and Ohio

That's a wrap for our live coverage of the Mega Tuesday primaries. Thanks for joining and be sure to come back for continued election coverage and analysis!

It seems that we won't receive the clear winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries in Missouri. With the results too close to call, election officials have decided to wait until later in the day to double check on votes before naming victors. As it stands, Clinton swept on the Democratic side, Trump took home three wins and Kasich nabbed his first, very important win. Clinton and Trump appear to be in the lead in Missouri, but are only ahead of Sanders and Cruz by 0.2% respectively.

Sanders has admitted defeat but has vowed to remain in the fight until the Democratic convention in July in an email to the press.

With over 99% of the vote reporting in Missouri, it's still a tight race and neither side has been called. Both Clinton and Trump lead Sanders and Cruz respectively with 0.2% of the vote. There are 52 delegates at stake for Republicans and 71 delegates for Democrats.

Clinton snatches her fourth victory of the night, with an unexpected win in Illinois. There is only one race left for Democrats tonight and it's a tight one. With 97.5% reporting in Missouri, Sanders is ahead by a hair, 49.7% to 49.3%.

With more and more victories under his belt, Donald Trump seems to be morphing into a slightly kinder, gentler candidate at least at his victory speeches.

But that certainly doesn't apply to reporters, whom he slammed as "really disgusting people" to the titters of supporters during his Mar-a-Lago victory speech.

And he didn't take any questions, even though his speech was billed as a press conference.

More important than who won what state—at least at this stage in the game—is the number of delegates each candidate got tonight. We know that Clinton and Trump were leading among their rivals in delegate count and that rings even more true after tonight's five contests. Although results are not fully reported, Clinton has secured more than 200 delegates tonight. Meanwhile, Trump has added at least 150. Here's the breakdown of delegates thus far*:

• Florida: Trump won 99 delegates | Clinton won 122 delegates, Sanders has 60
• Illinois: Trump won 24 delegates | Unknown on Democratic side
• Missouri: Unknown on both sides
• North Carolina: Trump won 24 delegates, Cruz has 24, Kasich has 7 & Rubio has 4 | Clinton won 56 delegates, Sanders has 26
• Ohio: Kasich won 66 delegates | Clinton won 75 delegates, Sanders has 38

*Complete results have not been reported. Trump and Kasich both won winner-take-all states, thus taking home all delegates available in those states.

What do these victories mean in overall delegate counts? Clinton and Trump have widened their lead, while Kasich has finally surpassed 100 delegates. With Rubio suspending his campaign, the Ohio governor now moves into third place among Republican candidates.

• Democrats:Clinton 1,488 delegates | Sanders 704 delegates
• Republicans: Trump 619 delegates | Cruz 394 delegates | Rubio 167 delegates| Kasich 136 delegates

Donald may be the one person on the face of the earth that Hillary can beat in the general election.

- Ted Cruz

Donald Trump on his "amazing evening."

A calm but thrilled Donald Trump declared the night an "amazing evening" after winning Florida, North Carolina and Illinois — and fully expecting to win Missouri.

In his rambling victory speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate, he immediately took the opportunity to again slam American corporations for taking jobs and dodging taxes abroad — then boasted that the Republican Party "is the biggest political story all over the world" with record numbers of voters coming out.

He chalked up the turnout and his support to an angry electorate. "There is great anger, believe me, there is great anger," he said. Voters "are not angry people but they want to see the country properly run," he added.

He expressed a bit of shock at his success, and noted that when he declared on the campaign trail "We need protection in our country ... that's when our poll numbers shot up."

He added: "This country is going to start winning again ... we're going to have great victories for our country."

Trump claims victory in North Carolina and in Illinois. He's expected to speak soon at his Florida resort, Mar-a-lago.

Kasich gives his first victory speech of the 2016 primary season.

"We are moving closer to securing the Democratic nomination and winning this election in November," Hillary Clinton declared to supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, after sweeping up in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.

And already sounding like the nominee and going after her expected GOP rival, Clinton immediately bashed Donald Trump, declaring: "Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it," she said. "Engage our allies not alienate them. Defeat our enemies, not embolden them."

Wondering what happens to Rubio's delegates now that he's dropped out? Rules about delegate binding differs state to state. Frontloading HQ blog breaks it down:

It's official. Ohio Governor John Kasich has his first victory in his home state.

Ohio marks three wins for Clinton tonight. It's gearing up to be a great night for the Democratic frontrunner, who was concerned about losing several states tonight. Results still coming in, with Illinois and Missouri still in contention.

Is there any chance John Kasich would team up with Donald Trump if the Ohio governor doesn't grab some momentum?

Nope.

"There's no way I would team up with Donald Trump. No way. Forget it," Kasich told Fox and Friends. "I'm going to be the nominee because we're going to win Ohio. We're going to move across the country with the positive attitude of bringing people together."

Clinton picks up another win in North Carolina.

BREAKING: Marco Rubio has officially suspended his campaign.

Marco Rubio's loss in Florida is Cuba and President Obama's gain.

Obama is working to end half a century of US hostility with the island nation — and Rubio is one of the most major critics of that policy.

Rubio's defeat not only dashes his presidential hopes but also his plans — backed by many in south Florida — to stop the warming relations between the two nations as Obama attempts to boost trade with Cuba by maneuvering around the US embargo.

"Rubio is the icon on rollback" of the budding relationship, Miami attorney Pedro Freyre told McClatchy. With a primary loss " a big, big chunk of the wind goes out of that thrust."

Rubio, who lost to Trump in Florida tonight, is giving a concession speech. He was briefly interrupted by a Trump supporter, who yelled, "Trump for president!" The protester was quickly drowned out by Rubio's supporters, but not before Rubio had this to say:

Florida has been called for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Trump's victory is a major blow to the Rubio campaign.

The remaining polls in Florida and all the polls in Illinois and Missouri will close in about 10 minutes. Early results in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio show Clinton and Trump in the lead, but all that could change.

Polls have officially closed in Ohio and North Carolina. Standby for results.

Switching gears momentarily to the primary race in Missouri. The mother of Michael Brown, the black teen killed by a white police officer, has endorsed Clinton in the Democratic primary.

"When I lost my son, I lost my world. 'Big Mike' was a big boy, but he was my baby boy; my only child, and his life was brutally taken from me," Lezley McSpadden wrote in her endorsement statement.

She continued: "Parents are not supposed to bury their children, especially by murder. But the reality is, that far too many black parents have; not just by senseless gunfire but by lawful gunfire. Enough is Enough." McSpadden referenced Clinton's "realistic"policy positions, taking a veiled shot at Sanders, who is criticised for having unrealistic policy plans.

"This election season, we are at battle for the soul of our nation," McSpadden said. "If we want to continue to build on the progress made by our country, we need a president who is ready to lead — and I trust Hillary Clinton."

h/t The Washington Post

Poll closing update: A correction, not all polls in Florida closed at 7pm EDT. Some, in the Central Time Zone, close at 8pm EDT. Results are already being reported.

We're two minutes away from the polls closing in Florida and less than an hour from polls closing in North Carolina and Ohio. Expect results to begin pouring immediately at poll closing, particularly with early voting.

Odds are looking good for Kasich to win his home state of Ohio, according to Pivit. It would be the first state win for the Ohio governor and a crucial one at that.

There have been allegations, promoted by Trump himself, that he was left off some ballots in Florida.

The Sunshine State is a closed-primary state, which means only registered Republican voters would receive a ballot containing Trump's name and that of his fellow GOP rivals. Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher explained that independent voters—or those registered as "no party affiliation"— cannot vote in the primary. Voters must register with a party affiliation 29 days before the primary and could not change their affiliation after 16 February.

h/t The Associated Press

Update on the situation at the Rubio headquarters:

Florida will be the first state to close poll in less than an hour. It's a key state for both parties, with 99 Republican delegates, winner-take-all, and 214 Democratic delegates, awarded proportionally, at stake. As we mentioned before, Florida could very well break Rubio's presidential dreams and push Trump one step closer to winning the GOP nomination.

Results should begin pouring in shortly after polls close. We'll be updating results live as soon as they begin reporting.

Exit polls have begun to roll out. A sample of interesting results:

BREAKING: Marco Rubio's campaign headquarters in Washington DC was evacuated on Tuesday after a suspicious white powder was found, a spokesman told the media. Campaign spokesman Alex Conant told reporters that employees evacuated to the roof of the building while hazmat crews investigated. The fire department is on scene and the FBI was in the process of responding. The investigation into the substance is ongoing.

h/t ABC News

Polls will soon be closing in all five of states. Here is the end times for voting:

• Florida: 7pm EDT/ 11pm GMT
• Illinois: 8pm EDT/12am GMT
• Missouri: 8pm EDT/12am GMT
• North Carolina: 7.30pm EDT/11.30pm GMT
• Ohio: 7.30pm EDT/11.30pm GMT

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton spoke today about today's primaries, the pessimism in the election and being focused on getting the delegates she needs to win the party's nomination.

A Ben Carson super PAC spent $10m (£7m) to fund the retired neurosurgeon's presidential bid and now, after Carson suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump, it's refocusing to push for a Trump-Carson Republican ticket.

"President Trump will need the wise counsel and moral compass of Dr Ben Carson," John Philip Sousa IV, the pro-Carson super-PAC's founder, said in an email to supporters.

"Honestly, I am not a Donald Trump guy," Sousa told his super-PAC donors. "But, I've learned to deal with reality ... If the Donald is going to be our nominee, who else would you like to have his ear and give him advice than Dr Ben Carson? ... Perhaps, with the Donald's nomination looming as inevitable, it was very wise of Dr Carson to endorse Mr Trump so that he can exert a positive influence upon him."

Sousa told reporters that 92% of donors supported the goal of making Carson Trump's running mate.

h/t The Hill

It looks like Rubio is in it for the long haul. The Florida senator clarified today that he will continue his campaign no matter the result in his home state.

"As I've said before, my campaign has never been built on winning in one particular state," he said during an interview on Fox News. Rubio said he would "love" to head to Utah and Arizona with a Florida win but noted that delegate math shows that it will be difficult for any candidate to win the necessary delegates before the convention in July.

h/t Business Insider

There are two key states in play today: Florida and Ohio. The winner-takes-all primaries in the Sunshine and Buckeye states will very likely determine the future of both Kasich and Rubio.

Kasich, the popular Ohio governor, is giving Trump a run for his money and has a real chance of winning the state's 66 delegates. A win would give Kasich a push to continue his campaign and could push the party towards a contested convention in July. Should he lose, though, Kasich's campaign could very well be over today.

Meanwhile, Rubio, one of Florida's senators, has an uphill battle for the 99 delegates in his home state. Poll after poll shows Trump ahead, with several recent polls giving the frontrunner a double digit lead in the state. A Rubio win in Florida would certainly be surprising and would keep his campaign alive. However, like Kasich, if he loses in Florida, Rubio could see the end of his presidential hopes.

Trump has kicked off Mega Tuesday with a victory in the Republican caucus in the Northern Mariana Islands. The remote US territory gave the billionaire real estate mogul 73% support and all nine delegates at stake. He was followed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz with 24%, Ohio Governor John Kasich with 2% and Marco Rubio with 1%.

h/t POLITICO

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has been front and centre in the news ever since he announced his campaign and things have not changed during primary and caucus season. A recent attack ad by Our Principles PAC shows a series of women reading sexist things he's said in the past.

Welcome to our live coverage of Mega Tuesday (Super Tuesday 3) primaries in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Voting has already begun, with polls opening as early as 6.30am EDT/10.30am GMT.