Today is March 15, otherwise known as "the ides of March". That date determined the fate of Julius Caesar, and in an election, this time can determine the fate of those running for president. For those who wish to watch this history in the making, here is how to watch March 15 primary election results In real time, with a schedule for Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina.
According to The Washington Post, five States are holding Democratic and Republican primaries today, which includes Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio. The Democratic candidates are battling for 691 available delegates across all of the states while the Republican candidates are going for 367.
The swing states of Florida and Ohio have the potential to change the race for good. For example, Republican candidates John Kasich and Marco Rubio need to win their home states to keep themselves in the race. These are the "winner take all" states, with the 99-delegate Florida and the 66 delegate Ohio. As for Ted Cruz, he doesn't lead the polls of any of the five states, and he really has to rack up delegates to stay in the race.
CNN Politics discusses how Trump, who has had to cancel rallies due to outright violence at them. If Trump continues to stay in the lead and amass 1,237 delegates that he needs to win the party's nomination outright. Should this happen, then the Republicans could be down to the last hope of somehow denying Trump the delegates he needs and driving the race into Cleveland in a contested convention.
As for the Democrats, Bernie Sanders still trails Hillary Clinton in spite of winning her in Michigan a week ago. It is possible that his criticism of trade deals will hurt Clinton in Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. Clinton is nervous about going up against him, and Sanders believes that his campaign will shift in his favor when the race moves west.
For those that want to keep close tabs on this influential race can follow it on news stations like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, as well as live streams online for users with a cable subscription, according to Syracuse. The New York Times has a results page, as well as an interactive map showing which candidates won by how much in each country. Other online options are numerous, including Politico, with updated results for each state and detailed maps for state and county. The CNN Election Center and The Washington Post are also good options.
Looking ahead to the election, March 22 will be the day of the Arizona primary, Idaho caucus, and Utah caucus. March 26 will be the caucus for Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington. April 5 will be the Wisconsin primary, and April 9 will be the Wyoming caucus. A full schedule of the 2016 Congressional and State Primary Dates can be found at My Time to Vote.
