By Katie Sittig-Boyd
Staff Writer

After the Tuesday, March 15, series of primaries, candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each secured additional delegates via Florida voters, who reportedly turned out in record numbers.

Clinton won the Florida primary over contender Bernie Sanders with approximately 64 percent of the votes, securing 120 delegates out of a possible 214.

Clinton’s success in Florida parallels her prior wins in the South, including in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

Trump triumphed in Florida, receiving 45 percent of the vote, over Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who won 27 percent and 17 percent of the vote, respectively. Trump acquired all of 99 available delegates for the Republican nomination.

Marco Rubio, widely considered the only viable Republican contender besides Trump or Ted Cruz, dropped out of the race.

Rubio addressed his supporters in a speech, bemoaning the current U.S. political climate in which people “literally hate each other” because of political views.

Rubio beat Trump among voters who are “of Cuban or Hispanic descent”; “prefer someone with political experience”; and “want someone who shares their values,” according to preliminary exit polls.