Donald Trump swept all five Republican primaries Tuesday while Hillary Clinton won four of five Democratic contests, taking most of the 556 delegates at stake and sharply narrowing the remaining paths available to their rivals.

Trump won Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, often by margins exceeding 30 points. Clinton carried Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania; Senator Bernie Sanders won Rhode Island.

The results, summarized in a contemporaneous account, consolidated two front-runners whose campaigns now rest increasingly on delegate arithmetic rather than state-by-state momentum.

Trump sweeps a favorable region

The Northeast offered Trump a less evangelical and more moderate Republican electorate than the states where Senator Ted Cruz has performed best. Voters responded to Trump’s outsider message, his emphasis on immigration and trade, and his argument that the party should rally behind its vote leader.

Trump won a majority in each state, allowing him to collect nearly every delegate bound directly by primary results. Pennsylvania’s system is different: only 17 delegates are bound to the statewide winner, while 54 elected delegates arrive at the convention formally unbound. Trump’s campaign worked to recruit supporters for those positions.

The Boston Globe reported that Trump declared himself the presumptive nominee after the sweep. The statement remains premature in a formal sense, but it reflects his improved chance of reaching 1,237 delegates before Cleveland.

Cruz and Governor John Kasich had announced a limited strategy to divide resources in upcoming states, with Cruz focusing on Indiana and Kasich on Oregon and New Mexico. Tuesday’s results showed the difficulty of turning anti-Trump coordination into votes when both remain on the ballot.

Clinton extends an already large lead

Clinton’s victories added to advantages in pledged delegates, total votes and superdelegate endorsements. Sanders’s Rhode Island win preserved his pattern of strength among younger voters and independents but supplied too few delegates to offset losses in larger states.

Maryland was particularly favorable to Clinton because of its racially diverse electorate and concentration around Washington. Pennsylvania also demonstrated her strength in Philadelphia and its suburbs, while Sanders performed better among younger and more liberal voters.

A Washington Post election report described the night as a major step toward Clinton’s nomination. Democratic proportional allocation means Sanders continues winning delegates even in defeat, but it also prevents him from making up ground without repeated landslides.

Sanders said he would continue campaigning and seek to shape the party’s platform. His fundraising network and policy agenda give him leverage even as the nomination route contracts.

Delegate rules become the campaign

Republican rules vary widely. Winner-take-all states can produce large swings, while proportional and district-based systems reward organization. Trump’s opponents must now deny him a majority rather than overtake him before the convention.

The Democratic system is more uniform and proportional. Clinton’s lead becomes harder to reverse with every contest because the remaining delegates decline faster than Sanders can reduce the gap. A NPR analysis emphasized that the five-state vote clarified both races without formally ending them.

Exit polling indicated that Republican voters prioritized change and directness, while Democratic voters divided over experience, trust and the scale of reform. Those themes have remained stable even as candidates and geography change.

Indiana becomes the next Republican test

Indiana votes May 3 and now represents Cruz’s strongest opportunity to interrupt Trump. Its conservative electorate and district-based delegates offer Cruz a more favorable setting, but a Trump victory could make a contested convention substantially less likely.

For Democrats, Indiana is competitive but less important to the overall math. Clinton can lose narrowly and still move closer to a pledged-delegate majority. Sanders needs both victories and margins large enough to change the trajectory.

Politico’s results coverage tracked the accumulation across all five states, while CNN’s primary center showed how Trump and Clinton translated popular majorities into delegates.

The night also changed the argument each front-runner makes. Trump can claim that Republican voters are converging around him after an extended split. Clinton can argue that her coalition is broader, more diverse and numerically decisive.

A same-night summary captured the simplest measure: Trump won every Republican contest, and Clinton won four. Their opponents remain active, but the burden has shifted. They must now explain not just how they can win states, but how they can overcome the delegate totals already recorded.