GOP candidate Ben Carson says ‘no path forward' after Super Tuesday

MIAMI, Florida (FOX 11 / AP) - The Latest on Campaign 2016 in the wake of Super Tuesday results that put Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in strong leads (all times local):

2:20 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is effectively ending his campaign after a poor finish across the Super Tuesday primaries.

Carson says in a statement Wednesday that he sees "no path forward" to the nomination and says he will not attend Thursday's GOP debate in Michigan.

Armstrong Williams, Carson's longtime business manager, tells the Associated Press it's "just the reality" that "there's only one candidate in this 2016 election on the GOP side, and his name is (Donald) Trump."

Williams adds that Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz also "have no path" and should drop out.

It was not immediately clear whether Carson will officially suspend his campaign, but Williams says he no longer will actively seek votes.

Another Carson aide, Larry Ross, said Carson will offer "more details" when he speaks Friday at the CPAC gathering, an annual conservative confab.

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2:00 p.m.

Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he would not vote for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump in November.

Baker made the comment Wednesday in response to questions about Trump's victories in seven Super Tuesday primaries, including in Massachusetts.

Asked if he would back the New York billionaire if he were to emerge as his party's nominee, Baker said he didn't vote for Trump on Tuesday and added: "I'm not going to vote for him in November."

Baker was quick to add that there is a long way to go until the Republican convention and chided reporters for jumping to conclusions that Trump will be the eventual nominee.

Baker wouldn't say what he would do if Trump wins the nomination.

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1:33 p.m.

Ted Cruz's campaign says he raised $12 million in February for his Republican presidential bid, a cash infusion created in part by his first-place finish in the leadoff Iowa caucuses.

Campaign manager Jeff Roe announced the figure Wednesday on Twitter. None of the other four Republicans in the race has shared February fundraising hauls; campaign finance reports are due to federal regulators March 20. Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton raised $42 million and $30 million, respectively, last month.

The Cruz campaign did not say how much cash it had available as of March 1. Roe said on Twitter that February was the campaign's best fundraising month. In January, Cruz had raised $7.6 million.

1:15 p.m.

Hillary Clinton's campaign says it raised $30 million for her primary campaign in February-$12 million less than Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders over the same month.

Clinton aides are stressing that she starts March with $31 million in the bank - more than enough, they say, to mount a competitive primary push.

Sanders did not release the amount he has on hand at the end of the month.

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1:10 p.m.

Mitt Romney is expected to speak out about the Republican presidential race.

The 2012 GOP presidential nominee announced plans to deliver speech about the 2016 race on Thursday at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Romney has been critical of 2016 front-runner Donald Trump on Twitter in recent weeks and has yet to endorse any of the candidates.

His office says the speech is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EST.

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11:48 a.m.

Republican Marco Rubio is insisting that he has a shot at winning the GOP presidential nomination despite strong Super Tuesday showings by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

Rubio spoke Wednesday in English and Spanish after he and his wife, Jeanette, cast their early ballots in Florida's March 15 primary.

The Florida senator said Super Tuesday was a "positive" night, given his win in Minnesota - even though front-runner Donald Trump took seven states and Cruz won three states.

He says he feels "great about what the map looks like now moving forward."

"We are going to win Florida," he said as he ducked into a car outside West Miami City Hall, where 18 years ago he launched his political career by winning a seat on the city commission.

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11:44 a.m.

A former top adviser to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign has found another way to fight Donald Trump's march to the GOP presidential nomination.

Tim Miller said Tuesday he had joined Our Principles, an anti-Trump super political action committee led by Katie Packer, a former aide to 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. Miller was a spokesman for Bush, who ended his campaign after the South Carolina primary last month.

Our Principles has run ads in early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, seeking to undermine the GOP front runner on a variety of fronts, including his signature issue of illegal immigration.

Miller said in an email Tuesday night Our Principles "will fight until the last delegate is counted" to keep Trump from facing Hillary Clinton in the general election, which Miller said Trump would lose.

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11:40 a.m.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback thinks Marco Rubio should remain in the Republican presidential race, even after strong Super Tuesday showings by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

Brownback says the fractured GOP "may be headed to a brokered convention."

Rubio is planning to travel Friday to Kansas for a rally in Wichita a day before the state's presidential caucuses. He's vying with Cruz and Trump for the state's 40 delegates.

Brownback has endorsed Rubio, as has Sen. Pat Roberts.

But Brownback said he would support Trump if Trump wins the Republican nomination.

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11:32 a.m.

Hillary Clinton is nearly half way to clinching the Democratic presidential nomination after her strong Super Tuesday.

With 865 delegates at stake, Clinton is assured of gaining at least 490 for the night, having won seven states and the American Samoa. Her double-digit wins in delegate rich states in the South were able to overcome Sanders, who won four states. He picks up at least 323 delegates.

Clinton's lead widens substantially when including superdelegates, the party leaders who overwhelmingly support her. Her total delegate count is now at least 1,038, giving her 71 percent of the delegates that have been awarded so far. Sanders has at least 410 delegates.

It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president.

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11:30 a.m.

The No. 2 Republican in the Senate is capturing the GOP establishment's "what now?" in the face of Donald Trump's success on Super Tuesday.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn was asked by reporters on Wednesday about party leaders trying to winnow the GOP presidential field to come up with one alternative to the billionaire New York businessman.

"You suppose that they would listen to us," Cornyn said. The senator said the other candidates - Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Ben Carson - are looking at their own chances and the possibility of a brokered convention and "figure that they'll hang in there as long as they can."

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11:00 a.m.

Despite Donald Trump's string of victories on Tuesday, he has to do better in upcoming contests to claim the Republican nomination for president before the party's national convention this summer.

Ted Cruz is emerging as the candidate who could stop him - with a little help from Marco Rubio.

A close look at the delegate math illustrates Trump's problem. So far Trump has won only 46 percent of the delegates, even though he has won 10 of the first 15 contests. It takes an outright majority of delegates to win the nomination.

On Tuesday, Cruz muted Trump's delegate gains by winning delegate-rich Texas, which is Cruz's home state.

The delegate math illustrates the importance of the March 15 primaries in Florida and Ohio in which the statewide winner gets all the delegates.

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10:00 a.m.

Donald Trump's delegate gains on Super Tuesday were limited by Ted Cruz's big win in delegate-rich Texas - his home state.

For the night, Trump won at least 234 delegates and Cruz won at least 209. Marco Rubio was a distant third with at least 90.

There were 595 Republican delegates at stake in 11 states. There were still 40 delegates left to be allocated Wednesday morning.

Texas was the biggest prize on Tuesday, with 155 delegates at stake. Cruz won at least 99 delegates in the state and Trump got at least 33, with 20 left to be awarded. Rubio picked up three.

Overall, Trump leads with 316 delegates and Cruz has 226. Rubio has 106 delegates, John Kasich has 25 and Ben Carson has eight.

It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.

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9:38 a.m.

Top advisers to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders say his campaign is far from finished in part because upcoming contests could be more difficult for front runner Hillary Clinton.

They point to upcoming contests in Nebraska, Kansas and Maine as key opportunities for their candidate. Campaign manager Jeff Weaver says Michigan's primary later this month will be a "critical showdown" and the senator plans to focus heavily on Clinton's record on trade in the manufacturing state.

Sanders senior adviser Tad Devine acknowledged Wednesday that Super Tuesday was the best day on the primary calendar for the former secretary of state and that Clinton has a "substantial advantage" in pledged delegates.

Sanders won contests in his home of Vermont, Colorado, Minnesota and Oklahoma but Clinton swept through the South, adding to her delegate lead.

8:07 a.m.

Six New Jersey newspapers say Gov. Chris Christie should resign over his endorsement of Donald Trump. They add that if Christie refuses to quit, New Jersey citizens should initiate a recall effort.

The papers - all owned by the Gannett Company, Inc., - on Wednesday ran brutal editorials saying they are fed up with everything from Christie's famous sarcasm to "his long neglect of the state to pursue his own selfish agenda." They add that they are "disgusted with his endorsement of Donald Trump after he spent months on the campaign trail trashing him."

Christie quit his own presidential campaign after disappointing finishes in early state contests and abruptly endorsed Trump. He said he was backing the billionaire because Trump represents the best chance to defeat Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton in November.