Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton scored sweeping victories on “Super Tuesday”, significantly raising the odds that the property mogul and the former secretary of state will face off in November’s presidential election.

On the biggest night of the US primary election to date, Mr Trump demonstrated the breadth of his appeal by winning seven states from Massachusetts and Vermont to Alabama ?and Georgia. ?Ted Cruz, the Texas senator, won his home state, and received a ?big ?boost by winning Oklahoma. Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, won his first state of the 2016 race with a badly-needed victory in Minnesota. Polls were still open in Alaska.

Asked if he was now the party’s presumptive nominee, Mr Trump said: “I feel awfully good”. With the Republican establishment in turmoil over the rise of Mr Trump — whom they believe will struggle to win the White House because of his bombastic rhetoric — the tycoon said he would be a “unifier” for the GOP. He stressed that he was expanding the party by pulling in Democrats and independents. “The Republican Party has become more dynamic, more diverse,” he said.