 "A young supporter holds up a campaign sign for U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Central High School during at a campaign rally in Madison, Mississippi")
An epic clash between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in the US polls seemed imminent as the front-runners today took giant steps towards securing their parties' presidential nomination by winning pivotal primaries in a multi-state vote.
Trump kept his substantial delegate lead by winning at least three Republican contests, including his knockout victory in Florida that pushed rival and Senator from the state Marco Rubio out of the race. Trump emphatically won Florida, the biggest prize on 'Super Tuesday 2.0', including all 99 of its delegates.
The 69-year-old real estate tycoon registered impressive wins in Florida, Illinois and North Carolina but lost to Ohio Governor John Kasich in his home state.
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Clinton, 68, took big strides toward the Democratic nomination by winning Florida and North Carolina while also posting crucial victories over rival Bernie Sanders in the industrial Midwest by taking Ohio and Illinois.
Both Clinton and Trump piled up the delegates, much more than their nearest opponents, but both of them were still at a distance from securing the number of delegates required to be declared their respective parties' presidential nominee.
Trump was leading in the delegate count with his nearest rival Ted Cruz way behind by more than 200 delegates.
Trump in his victory speech in Miami exuded confidence on winning the race and defeating his presumptive Democratic rival Clinton in the November polls.
"We have to bring our party together. We have something happening that makes the Republican party the story over the world. Millions of people are joining the party. We have a great opportunity. Democrats are coming in. Independents are coming in," Trump said.
Based on the primary results, political pundits say Clinton in all probability is on her way to become the first woman presidential nominee of the Democratic party.
This was also evident in her victory speech as she used the occasion to attack Trump.
"When we hear a candidate for president call for rounding up 12 million immigrants, banning all Muslims from entering the United States, when he embraces torture, that doesn't make him strong, it makes him wrong," Clinton said.
"We should be bringing down barriers, not building walls. You know, to be great, we can't be small. We can't lose what made America great in the first place," she said amid applause and cheer from her supporters in West palm Beach, Florida.
The former Secretary of State now has 1,561 delegates as against 800 of her rival Sanders. She needs 2,382 of the 4,763 Democratic party delegates before the Philadelphia convention in July.
Sanders said he would continue with his campaign and has not given up despite the set back today.
The only state whose results were awaited was Missouri where Trump and Cruz were locked in a neck-and-neck race while on the Democratic side Clinton and Sanders were in a dead heat.
