TRUMP SWEEPS NORTHEASTERN STATES

• Donald Trump swept all five Republican primaries Tuesday, a commanding showing across the northeast that keeps the Republican frontrunner on his narrow path to the GOP nomination.

Hillary Clinton carried Democratic contests in Maryland and Delaware, the start of what her campaign hoped would be a strong night for the former secretary of state.

Trump’s victories came in Maryland, as well as Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. His strong showing was a blow to rivals who are running out of ways to stop the brash billionaire.

Clinton aimed to emerge from Tuesday’s contests on the brink of becoming the first woman nominated by a major party. She is increasingly looking past rival Bernie Sanders, even as the Vermont senator vows to stay in the race until primary voting ends in June.

Trump’s victories padded his delegate totals, yet the Republican contest remains chaotic. The businessman is the only candidate left in the three-person race who could possibly clinch the nomination through the regular voting process, yet he could still fall short of the 1,237 delegates he needs.

GOP rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich are desperately trying to keep him from that magic number and push the race to a convention fight, where complicated rules would govern the nominating process. The Texas senator and Ohio governor even took the rare step of announcing plans to coordinate in coming contests to try to minimize Trump’s delegate totals.

Trump has railed against his rivals’ co-ordination, panning it as “pathetic.”

There’s no doubt Trump is trying to lead a party divided by his candidacy. In Pennsylvania, exit polls showed nearly four in 10 GOP voters said they would be excited by Trump becoming president, but the prospect of the real estate mogul in the White House scares a quarter of those who cast ballots in the state’s Republican primary.