© Joe Skipper / Reuters
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump secured his lead Tuesday night with victories in the Illinois, North Carolina, and Florida GOP primaries, in the latter defeating home-state candidate Marco Rubio. Trump lead the Sunshine State with 46 percent of the vote—nearly 20 points ahead of the Florida senator. Following the devastating loss, Rubio announced his departure from the presidential race. Trump took Illinois with 39 percent of the vote, besting Ted Cruz by nearly 10 percentage points. Illinois and Florida are winner-takes-all states; North Carolina carves up its delegates proportionally. Trump remained locked in a virtual tie with Cruz in Missouri, where the GOP presidential primary was too close to call Wednesday morning, according to multiple outlets.