Following three days of primaries and caucuses, businessman Donald Trump took five of the nine Republican races, and Sen. Bernie Sanders took four of six Democratic races, including a major upset of Hillary Clinton in Michigan. Despite Sanders' big run and three wins from Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump and Clinton still hold major leads in the delegate counts.
While Clinton won just two of six states up for grabs, her big margins of victory in Louisiana and Mississippi ensured that she increased her delegate lead. Sanders' wins came by smaller margins, so Clinton still took plenty of delegates in those states because of the proportional allocation of delegates.
However, the momentum Sanders gained, especially from his Michigan upset, put a wrinkle in the Clinton campaign's plan to quickly wrap up the nomination and move on to the general election. He will look to capitalize on the burst in momentum in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and to get a boost in fundraising.
Despite giving up some states to Cruz, Trump managed to basically narrow down the Republican side to a two-man race. Sen. Marco Rubio saw very disappointing finishes in multiple states, and Gov. John Kasich came in a close third in Michigan after pooling much of his resources into a race for second place in the state.
If Trump performs as expected in big upcoming races in states like Florida, he will make it all but impossible for any other candidates to take the nomination from him.
March 10 and 12 will see a few smaller races on both sides. Republicans will head to the polls in the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam and Wyoming while Democrats decide in the Northern Mariana Islands.
The biggest day in the near future for the 2016 election cycle is March 15, the second "Super Tuesday" set of races, wherein five big states loaded with delegates will vote on both sides. Polls show both Trump and Clinton have sizable leads in these states, and successful outings for both front-runners could solidify their holds on the nominations.