WASHINGTON (AP) - Donald Trump wins the Republican presidential primaries in Alabama, Massachusetts and Tennessee. Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic presidential primaries in Alabama and Tennessee.

Clinton, Rubio visit Minnesota on high-stakes Super Tuesday

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Normally an afterthought in the presidential nomination chase, Minnesota voters caucused Tuesday after drawing last-minute visits from Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders eyed the state as a chance for a much-needed victory to narrow Clinton's lead.

Sanders was banking on the state's caucus format and largely white voter base to boost his campaign, and rallied in the state's most liberal pockets in the days leading up to the caucuses. Clinton largely relied on surrogates until zipping in hours ahead of Tuesday's voting to visit a Minneapolis coffee shop and marketplace.

"I need you to caucus for me," Clinton said as she made her way through food stalls at Midtown Global Market, nestled in one of Minneapolis' most densely populated immigrant communities.

Despite the narrowing field on the Republican side with the exit of Jeb Bush and others, Minnesota's Republican caucuses were hard to read as most candidates focused on other states. At his packed caucus-day rally in the Minneapolis suburb of Andover, Rubio urged angry voters not to support an outspoken celebrity in GOP rival Donald Trump.

"How did that work out for Jesse Ventura?" the Florida senator said, referencing the former professional wrestler turned Minnesota governor. "Jesse Ventura was an embarrassment."

Meanwhile, Sanders entered the contest with an uphill climb, as most of Minnesota's so-called superdelegates — party bigwigs and elected officials who cast convention votes regardless of the caucus outcome — had already pledged their support to Clinton.

But Minnesota was fertile ground for Sanders, with its predominantly white population with a progressive streak that plays to the Vermont senator's strength. The caucus format — with voter speeches preceding secret ballots and internal party business — also set up well for Sanders by attracting the most fervent supporters.

Chelsey McKinney, a 21-year-old Minneapolis resident attending her first caucus, was torn between Clinton and Sanders. She saw Sanders as stronger on issues she cares about like supporting Black Lives Matter — McKinney is black — but she was drawn to Clinton's experience.

"He doesn't mince his words," McKinney said. "But Hillary Clinton, she knows politics. If she were anywhere in the White House, I would feel comfortable because I know that she gets the game."

In the northwest Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove, meanwhile, Jon and Jennifer McCullough arrived early at their GOP caucus to set up a table with signs and literature supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Jon McCullough says the couple has attended some events held by Cruz's father Rafael, a pastor, and said it gave them some insight into how the senator was raised and why he is "so passionately in love with not only America but also the Constitution."

They say they will still vote for a conservative candidate if Cruz isn't the nominee, but aren't sure who they will support.

Seventy-seven Democratic delegates were up for grabs Tuesday; 38 on the Republican side. Both parties allocate delegates proportionally, meaning even losing candidates could pick up some delegates.

Final tallies weren't expected until after caucuses wrap up late Tuesday night.

-- Associated Press

Clinton solidifies lead with wins in 4 states

MIAMI (AP) — Hillary Clinton widened her lead over Democratic rival Bernie Sanders Tuesday with key victories in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia in the Super Tuesday primary contests.

Sanders won his home state of Vermont and pledged to keep battling for the nomination.

Backed by black voters, Clinton aims for a sweep of Southern states holding primaries. Sanders could only bank on the home-state win and both campaigns were vying for support in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

As polls closed, Clinton spoke to a forum of black women hosted by the television network BET at the St. Regis hotel in Miami.

"I'm thinking about how we can elevate the political dialogue away from the insults and really mean-spirited language," she said.

Clinton and her allies have already shifted some attention to Donald Trump, casting the Republican front-runner as divisive and unprepared to lead the country. The Republican contest, said Clinton, has "turned into a kind of one-upsmanship on insulting."

All told, Clinton and Sanders were competing for 865 delegates in 11 states and American Samoa on Tuesday, the biggest single-day prize of the 2016 campaign.

With her victories in Georgia and Virginia, Clinton is assured of at least 108 delegates. Sanders will receive at least 57 from Vermont. Forty-eight remain to be allocated in those three states.

Black voters powered Clinton to victory in South Carolina last weekend and were expected to give her a huge advantage throughout the South.

Nearly half of Democratic primary voters in Alabama and Georgia were black, according to early results of exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks. In Texas, about 3 in 10 Democratic primary voters were Hispanic and a little fewer than 2 in 10 were black.

Greta Lewis voted with her mother at the Central Christian Church in Memphis. Both women are black and chose Clinton.

"She has been the one who has stepped out to at least try to identify with most of the minorities, whether they're women, black, Asian, Hispanic," said Lewis, a 31-year-old receptionist at her mother's dental office.

Exit polling also showed voters pushing to continue President Barack Obama's policies rather than the kind of leftward shift championed by Sanders.

Clinton entered Tuesday with 546 delegates, including super delegates — the party leaders and members of Congress who can support any candidate. Sanders lags with 87 delegates. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.

Clinton visited Minnesota before heading to Miami, foreshadowing the importance of Florida for the general election.

Sanders decamped to Essex Junction, Vermont. He has vowed to stay in the race until the party's convention — and he showed no signs of retreating as he addressed a raucous rally of supporters after the Vermont polls closed.

"Thirty-five states remain and let me assure you that we are going to take our fight for economic justice, for social justice, for environmental sanity, for a world of peace, to every one of those states." Sanders said.

The event had the feel of a valedictory for Sanders, who said he was "so proud to bring Vermont values all across this country."

Despite his obstacles, the Vermont senator has little incentive to fold. He reported raising more than $42 million in February, a sign that he will have the money to go deep into the spring.

-- Associated Press

Long lines at caucuses across Minnesota

Caucuses across the state are busy tonight, with people reporting long lines at several locations.

From MPR News reporter Tracy Mumford: "The line for the GOP caucus is out the door and around the corner at Thomas Edison High School in Minneapolis. Some people have been waiting outside for more than 20 minutes as volunteers try to direct people to the correct classroom."

We're also hearing that a GOP caucus in Andover, Minn. and a DFL caucus in Minneapolis, have been delayed as well.