Donald Trump relishes his Super Tuesday wins: 'I'm a unifier'

"I’m a unifier. I know people are going to find that a little hard to believe. Once we get all of that finished, we’re going to go after one person: And that’s Hillary Clinton," he said. "And, frankly, I think that’s an easy race."

Trump called Rubio, who is likely to go winless in the Super Tuesday states, a "lightweight" and said it was a two-way race between him and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won his home state and neighboring Oklahoma.

"I've always liked Marco until about a week ago when he decided to go hostile. He decided to go Don Rickles. But Don Rickles has a lot more talent," he said, adding: "It's hurt him ... He had a bad night. At least you can say that Ted has won something. You got to be able to win. He's all talk."

Updated at 9:22 p.m.: Dozens of Hillary Clinton supporters cheered on the former secretary of State at Paschal's Restaurant Tuesday evening as she claimed victory in nearly every Super Tuesday state.

The watch party drew locals, volunteers from her campaign, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Mayor Kasim Reed and other local politicians, including State Rep. Stacey Abrams, who spoke at the event. Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards also spoke to supporters.

The mood was chipper, particularly after it was quickly announced that she routed Sen. Bernie Sanders in Georgia with nearly three-quarters of the Democratic primary vote.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Dr. Malikah Salaam-Ambolley, an educator and Clinton campaign volunteer. “I believe in what she stands for this country. She believes that everyone should have equal opportunity, access, it doesn’t matter about race, gender, socioeconomic conditions, religion. She epitomizes what the United States of America stands for.”

Clinton’s supporters expressed optimism about the road to come, particularly if she ends up facing billionaire Donald Trump in the general election.

“If it’s Trump, we got it,” said Vicente Ochoa, an airport customer service representative from Stockbridge.

Updated 9:09 p.m.:  Clinton spoke to supporters in Miami tonight and largely aimed her remarks at Donald Trump.

"I believe what we need in America today is more love and kindness," she said. "It works. Instead of building walls, we’re going to break down barriers and build ladders of opportunity and empowerment so every American can live up to his or her potential."

Updated at 8:20 p.m.: Two of Hillary Clinton's biggest Atlanta boosters predicted smooth sailing for the former secretary of State in the months ahead.

“She is going to win not just only Georgia, but she’s going to carry the whole South … We’re going to send her to Philadelphia as the nominee of the Democratic Party. And we’re going to win in November,” U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, told the crowd assembled at Clinton’s Atlanta watch party at Paschal’s Restaurant.

“I don’t see any stumbling blocks,” Lewis told reporters shortly after Georgia’s primary race was called in Clinton’s favor.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, an early supporter of Clinton’s, said Sen. Bernie Sanders' big win in the New Hampshire primary last month helped force her Georgia boosters to up their game in Georgia.

“It really focused the mind once we saw that we were going to have to really deal with the Sanders team in this area. Today’s results I think have come from that,” the Democrat told reporters.

“This is exactly what I said was going to happen two to three weeks ago. Georgia was never in doubt,” Reed said. “We were going to do the work that was necessary to hold the coalition together in the city, the region and the state and to deliver concrete results to Secretary Clinton. She’s on the way to the nomination.”

Updated 7:45 p.m. Bernie Sanders just spoke from his home state of Vermont, where he is projected as the winner of that state's primary. He made no mention of Georgia or any other state, but vowed to be competitive tonight.

"You're going to see a lot of election results coming in," he said. "This is not a general election. It's not winner take all. By the end of tonight we are going to win many hundreds of delegates."

Updated 7:33 p.m. We just got this statement from Democratic Party of Georgia chair DuBose Porter:

"I'd imagine that Georgia Republicans--up and down the ballot--would rather have a wasp in their mouth than have Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. But he is a monster of their own creation. His victory is perfectly illustrative of just how extreme and out of touch the Republican Party has become. Whether or not he clinches the nomination, Trump and the stranglehold he has held on the GOP pose very serious problems for their Party in November.

Updated 7:03 p.m.

Trump is set to get the bulk of the 76 delegates up for grabs in Georgia, the second-biggest trove of the sweep of states that are holding primaries or caucuses on Tuesday. The closer race is the GOP contest for second place that pits Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio against Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Clinton’s victory in Georgia was another sign she has consolidated support of minority voters, a key constituency in the Democratic base. Black voters make up a majority of the party’s electorate in Georgia, and support from African-Americans helped power her rout of Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in South Carolina on Saturday. She will likely take most of the 102 Democratic delegates at stake in Georgia.

Both Trump and Clinton had long held leads in the polls in Georgia, and several networks called the race shortly after the polls closed.

The Peach State is at the center of a sweep of seven Southern states with votes Tuesday, though a range of other states from Alaska to Vermont are also holding primaries and caucuses.

Updated 7:01 p.m.: Hillary Clinton dominated Bernie Sanders in Georgia on Tuesday, winning the state’s Democratic presidential primary in easy fashion.

CNN declared Clinton the winner in Georgia shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m.

There are 102 delegates at stake in Georgia, and Clinton is expected to win a majority of them. Not up for grabs today were the state's 15 superdelegates — party elites who can support anyone they wish. Most have already declared for Clinton.

Twelve states voted today and 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, about 20 percent of the total needed to win the party's nomination.

Updated at 6:59 p.m.: The Trump watch party is a Spartan affair, held just past the loading dock of Corey Advertising. Attendees are scarce – but a few have started to arrive, including former state lawmakers Charlice Byrd and Jill Chambers. And Debbie Dooley, who attempted to defeat House Speaker David Ralston in 2014, and missed.

"This election is Main Street versus Wall Street -- on both sides," said Dooley, who thinks Trump can ultimately pick up Bernie Sanders reporters.

Facilities are limited. Gentlemen journalists have been invited to use a portable toilet outside. Lady journalists have resisted.

“For the first time, I think people are standing up and voicing their disappointments. They’re looking for a change. I don’t think it really matters who it is. They’re looking for a change of direction,” said Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, one of the few attendees at the watch party. He’s a member of the state Public Service Commission.

I asked McDonald if he was confident that Republicans could take the White House with Donald Trump as their nominee. “That’s above my pay grade,” McDonald said. “I was a Democrat in the state Legislature for 20 years. The party left me. I didn’t leave the party.”

I asked him if the Republican party has left him, too. “No, they’re not leaving me. I’m hoping to lead them. Not leave them, but lead them,” McDonald said.

Updated at 6:08 p.m.: The Trump watch party in downtown Atlanta is at the Corey Center -- at the base of that old smokestack on the Grady Curve. The one that now has "Vote Trump" in flaming letters on it now.

In the parking lot is Donald Trump's ranking supporter in Georgia: Lauren "Bubba" McDonald, a statewide-elected member of the Georgia Public Service Commission, and his wife Shelley. They have a huge RV wrapped with "Georgians for Trump" signage.

McDonald said on a trip to South Carolina last week, they had people following them -- thinking that Trump was inside. But in a pinch, McDonald can pull off a great imitation. He's got a Donald Trump mask and a Donald Trump mask near the driver's seat.

The watch party is a Trumpless affair -- The Donald is in Florida -- so McDonald might be tempted to break out the mask.

Updated at 5:45 p.m. Early exit polls released by CNN show the rough contours of Georgia's primary electorate. So far, there are few surprises.

More than 80 percent of Republicans who cast ballots today identified themselves as either “very conservative” or “somewhat conservative,” compared to just 16 percent who called themselves moderate. Roughly 61 percent are evangelical.

It’s hard not to see this as good news for Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, who are in a fight for the most conservative elements of the GOP.

On the Democratic side, the early returns show about 46 percent of the electorate is black – that’s a lower proportion than in 2008, when African-Americans made up the bulk of the party’s vote. But the numbers are still coming in, and the proportion could change.

One more aspect to note: About one quarter of Democratic voters defined themselves as “very liberal,” while the rest of the field was further to the right on the political spectrum. Those are the voters that Bernie Sanders depends on for a strong showing here.

Updated at 5:20 p.m.: In its effort to repair a fumbled response to the KKK question, the Donald Trump campaign has pulled out a character witness you might be familiar with:

Updated 3:20 p.m.: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's campaign is bracing for the possibility that it might go 0-for-11 in the night's Super Tuesday contests. But campaign manager Terry Sullivan told donors and allies again Tuesday that he anticipates the fight against frontrunner Donald Trump to drag into the Republican National Convention in July.

Voter turnout in Georgia appeared steady Tuesday, with no widespread polling problems reported as of midday. But a storm front expected to roll through Atlanta in the afternoon could snarl traffic and affect turnout.