Hillary Clinton: Barring something hugely unexpected, a sweep of the March 15 primaries

The night began with a pair of routs in the Sunshine State, and ended with two races so close that no media outlet will definitively project a winner. In between, the guy that gave the GOP establishment starbursts throughout the 2016 campaign finally succumbed to the fact that Republican voters didn’t like him as much as the pundits, and finally called it a campaign. And the Democratic picture, while far from resolved, got considerably clearer with an unexpected sweep of the quintet of primaries by Hillary Clinton, who looked at least somewhat imperiled in late polling (to say nothing of exit polls which wound up, as they have been frequently, being a bit off).

Here is the rundown on what was a very active Election Night on Tuesday:

MISSOURI: Technically, both races remain uncalled, because the margins were just so close. But all but two precincts are now reporting, and we have clear leaders. On the Democratic side, a late surge from the big cities (Kansas City and St. Louis) gave Hillary Clinton a come-from-behind effort that left her ahead of Bernie Sanders by a 1531 vote margin. This one no doubt stung badly for Sanders fans, as he led the race from very early in the night until 98 percent of the precincts were reporting. On the GOP side, meanwhile, Donald Trump nursed a slight lead all night, and finally appeared to pull off the narrow win with a 1636 vote margin over Ted Cruz. (Update: It is worth noting that there are still provisionals and absentees left to count. While it is unlikely that either contest will see 1000+ votes flip based on that, it explains why both races remain technically uncalled, even though there are not enough precincts left to make up the current deficits for either trailing candidate.)

ILLINOIS: Hillary Clinton’s birth state came through for her, but not without a sweat. With 97 percent reporting, Clinton held a lead over Sanders by a 50-49 margin (about 29,000 votes total). On the Republican side, Donald Trump benefited from split opposition to score the win with 39 percent of the vote, defeating Ted Cruz (30 percent) and John Kasich (20 percent).

FLORIDA: Notice that we haven't mentioned Marco Rubio yet? Here is why—his night, and his candidacy, were effectively over after an embarrassing defeat in his home state. Donald Trump swept the Sunshine State with 46 percent of the vote, easily eclipsing Rubio in the state he has served as a U.S. Senator since 2011. Rubio received only 27 percent, and exited stage right shortly thereafter. On the Democratic side, it was a total wipeout—Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders by a 65-33 margin.

OHIO: The Buckeye State was the only blip on the night for Donald Trump, though it was not entirely unexpected. John Kasich won the state he has served as Governor since 2011, winning by a surprisingly wide 47-36 margin over Trump. On the Democratic side, the exit polls hinted at a close contest, but when all was said and done, Hillary Clinton wound up with a comfortable 56-43 victory over Bernie Sanders.

NORTH CAROLINA: In the Tar Heel State, there were no great surprises, unless one takes margin into account. Donald Trump scored the win on the GOP side, but by a smaller-than-expected margin over Ted Cruz (40-37). Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton scored the win, as expected, but her fourteen point margin was basically the same as it was in Ohio, which most pre-election polls would not have suggested.