All but the clinch: Trump, Clinton look to extend delegate lead

By the end of the night, Super Tuesday III could be all but the clinch for Hillary Clinton -- while Donald Trump could be poised to turn the Ted Cruz-John Kasich alliance from a potential game-changer into a Hail Mary.
On the Democratic side, Clinton is likely to stride even closer to the nomination in the five state contests being held Tuesday, looking to further isolate Bernie Sanders as the Vermont senator struggles to translate his enthusiastic base of support into a winning coalition. Even Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday he does not think Sanders has a path to the nomination.
And Trump likewise is eyeing a potential primary sweep across the Northeast in the same states, looking to dramatically extend his delegate lead.
It won’t be enough for either to clinch the nomination, but a strong performance for the front-runners would further complicate the path to victory for the rest of the field -- especially Sanders.
Up for grabs Tuesday are delegates in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware and Connecticut – with Pennsylvania the biggest prize. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET in all five states.
Democrats are competing for 384 delegates in Tuesday's contests, while Republicans have 118 up for grabs (not counting the 54 unbound delegates in Pennsylvania).

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But on the Republican side, Cruz and Kasich sought Tuesday to defend their stop-Trump alliance in the face of searing criticism from the Republican front-runner himself – and despite stumbles for their tag-team out of the gate.
The candidates earlier announced they would work together toward the larger goal of denying Trump the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination before the July convention. Kasich agreed to stand aside in Indiana to help Cruz, while Cruz agreed to stand aside in Oregon and New Mexico to help Kasich.
On Fox News’ “Hannity,” Trump accused the two of “collusion,” saying: “In business, you go to jail for that.”
But in a radio interview Tuesday morning with an Indianapolis station, Cruz countered what they’re doing is “actually coalition-building.”
“I understand this is something very foreign to Donald Trump because he has not been able to build a majority anywhere,” Cruz said.
However, Kasich appeared Monday to undercut their arrangement by urging voters in Indiana to support him anyway.
"I've never told them not to vote for me," Kasich said while campaigning in Pennsylvania. "They ought to vote for me." He added that he simply agreed not to spend "resources" in Indiana.
And the campaign stumbled on a procedural issue in Oregon, complicating the pair’s efforts in that state. The Kasich campaign missed the March deadline to submit information for a voter pamphlet the state distributes ahead of the May primary.
The pamphlets typically contain the candidates’ biographies along with a photo and other information. This year, the pamphlet includes Kasich's name followed by an asterisk indicating that he didn't submit any information. Cruz and Trump, meanwhile, each get a full column explaining their positions and personal histories.
Kasich spokesman Chris Schrimpf stressed that Kasich nevertheless is on the ballot in Oregon, and said the campaign will work to “educate voters about why they should vote for him” in the election.
“Gov. Kasich is the only candidate with a proven record of accomplishment and the only one who can defeat Hillary Clinton,” he said in a statement. “... Gov. Kasich is the only Republican who can unite the Party and win in November."
Like Cruz, Kasich also defended their arrangement.
"The fact is, I don't have unlimited resources," Kasich said Tuesday on NBC's "Today," downplaying the collaboration as the logical step if he is to win the nomination in a contested convention.
Whether Cruz and Kasich can prevent Trump from clinching the nomination remains to be seen.
Trump's path to the nomination remains narrow, requiring him to win 58 percent of the remaining delegates to reach the magic number by the end of the primaries. He's hoping for a solid victory in Pennsylvania, though the state's unique ballot could make it hard for any candidate to win a big majority.
While the statewide Republican winner gets 17 delegates, the other 54 are directly elected by voters and can support any candidate at a convention. Their names are listed on the ballot with no information about which White House hopeful they support.
Clinton is on solid footing in the Democratic race and enters Tuesday's contests having accumulated 82 percent of the delegates needed to win her party's nomination. While she can't win enough delegates to officially knock Sanders out of the race this week, she can erase any lingering doubts about her standing.
Including superdelegates, Clinton now leads Sanders 1,946 to 1,192, according to a count by the AP. On the GOP side, Trump has 845 delegates, followed by Cruz at 559 and Kasich at 148.
Cruz’s best chances to undercut Trump might be in Indiana, which votes next week, and California, which votes in June.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., cast doubt Tuesday on whether a Cruz-Kasich alliance would do much good in his home state. Asked about their partnership, McCarthy told reporters he’s “not convinced” it will help in California.
Fox News’ Jessica O’Hara and Dan Gallo and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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