+++ Super Tuesday - live updates +++

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC)

Polls have closed in almost all contests but official results are still being tabulated. The Super Tuesday contest includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Republicans also vote in Alaska, where polls are not due to close until 5:00 Wednesday.

Republicans need to secure the support of at least 1,237 delegates, and Democrats at least 2,383 delegates, ahead of their parties' respective conventions in July.

05:19: Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in the northeastern US state of Vermont, broadcasters project. He beat Ohio Governor John Kasich, who took 30.7 percent of the vote to Trump's 32.5 percent.

04:55: DW correspondent Richard Walker opines on the future of Marco Rubio, the darling of the Republican Party's establishment, following a sound drubbing by Donald Trump.

04:40: US networks project that Hillary Clinton holds a solid delegate lead after Super Tuesday contests in 11 states. She has captured at least 377 delegates in seven states and one US territory, compared to rival Bernie Sanders, who gained at least 191 delegates after winning four states outright.

04:28: US networks project Bernie Sanders winning Minnesota caucus, delivering him his fourth state of the evening.

04:17: None of Super Tuesday's contest results are official but already the tabloid New York Daily News is reacting to Donald Trump's strong showing in the polls.

04:06: US networks project Bernie Sanders taking Colorado, delivering a much-needed win for the senator from Vermont, who so far has captured only two other states to rival Hillary Clinton's seven.

04:05: CBS News shows possible momentum by Republican Marco Rubio in Minnesota with little over half of precincts reporting.

03:37: Donald Trump is projected to take Arkansas; Hillary Clinton is projected to take Massachusetts, the FOX network reports.

03:31: Donald Trump delivered a long speech to supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida where he rejected any characterization of being a divisive figure. "I'm a unifier - I know that's hard to believe," Trump said. "We are going to be a unified party, and we are going to be a much bigger party."

03:27: DW correspondent Ines Pohl is streaming from Ted Cruz' victory speech in Houston on Twitter:

Meanwhile, DW's Richard Walker points to favorable signs for Rubio in Minnesota, where the Florida senator looks to have a lead:

Ted Cruz also wrapped up his speech with a dance on stage:

02:53: It looks like Bernie Sanders is trailing in today's voting. With wins in Vermont and Oklahoma, he now has at least 145 out of the 865 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday. Democratic Party frontrunner Hillary Clinton has so far won at least six states capturing at least 334 delegates. Including so-called superdelegates, Clinton now has at least 882 delegates over Sanders' 232. It will take 2,382 delegates to secure the nomination.

02:48: The Associated Press tallies delegates for the Republican Party's contest. Donald Trump has won at least 139 delegates while Ted Cruz has won at least 52. There are 595 Republican delegates at stake in 11 states. Marco Rubio has won at least 25 delegates and John Kasich has won at least 13. So far, Ben Carson has picked up two delegates in Virginia. Overall, Trump leads with 221 delegates. Cruz has 69, Rubio has 41, Kasich has 19 and Carson has seven. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination.

02:25: To recap: With 12 states voting, so far US networks project Donald Trump winning five states and Hillary Clinton taking six states. Trump won Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia; Clinton won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Bernie Sanders has taken Vermont and Oklahoma. Ted Cruz has taken Texas and Oklahoma. This is all based on exit poll data and does not represent official results.

02:19: NBC broadcaster projects Bernie Sander victorious in Oklahoma, his second win for the night after Vermont.

02:16: Hillary Clinton takes a swipe at Donald Trump's campaign slogan, Make America Great Again, telling supporters in Miami: "We have work to do but not to make America great again; America has always been great. We have to make America whole."

02:11: CBS broadcaster projects Ted Cruz picking up a second state with a win in Oklahoma following his victory in Texas. But Republican frontrunner Donald Trump currently commands Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts and Tennessee, according to exit polls.

02:02: NBC projects Ted Cruz takes home state of Texas; CNN, CBS projects Hillary Clinton victorious in Texas.

01:52: Final numbers are in… from the US territory of American Samoa. The South Pacific islands gave 73 percent of the vote to Hillary Clinton. A total 223 votes were cast. That means Clinton earns four delegates. Bernie Sanders picks up two delegates. American Samoa is one of five US territories that cast votes in the primary. Yet the arcane rules of the Electoral College system means American Samoa residents aren't eligible to vote in November 8's general election.

01:47: Bernie Sanders remaining upbeat despite probable defeat in four states so far.

01:41: The contest so far: Exit polls are projecting Hillary Clinton has taken Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. Donald Trump has been projected to take Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Georgia. Bernie Sanders has so far won his home state Vermont outright. But voting was still ongoing in other contests or the races were too close to call.

01:35: Hillary Clinton is projected to have won Arkansas. She was formerly the state's first lady where her husband Bill Clinton served as governor.

01:08: DW correspondent Ines Pohl reports some glum faces among Ted Cruz supporters in his home state of Texas.

01:06: CBS, FOX television networks project Donald Trump the winnner in Tennessee.

01:04: CNN projects Hillary Clinton the winner in Tennessee and Alabama.

01:03: CNN projects Donald Trump the winner in Massachusetts and Alabama.

00:53: ABC television projects Hillary Clinton has won the US territory of American Samoa.

00:49: Left-leaning ThinkProgress reports on the fallout of the US Supreme Court weakening key provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act designed to prevent voter suppression by state governments.

00:39: Happening now... DW correspondent Ines Pohl is speaking live with Ted Cruz supporters in Houston.

00:36: With voting in Texas set to close in less than two hours, local media is reporting seriously long lines at the polls.

00:25: Exit polls project Hillary Clinton led in Virginia and Georgia among both genders. Across the board, Bernie Sanders led among under-30 voters while Clinton was dominant among those over 45.

00:14: DW correspondent Richard Walker in Houston, Texas is speaking live about the preliminary results as they come in.

00:10: US television networks are reporting the Republican primary races in Vermont and Virginia "too close to call."

00:04: The Associated Press projects Hillary Clinton victorious in Georgia and Virginia; Bernie Sanders takes Vermont.

00:03: US broadcasters ABC, FOX project Donald Trump the winner in Georgia.

00:02: CNN exit polls project Hillary Clinton victorious in Georgia.

00:01: Polls have closed in the US states of Georgia, Vermont and Virginia.

23:42: A New York court ruled Tuesday that a $40-million lawsuit against Trump University may proceed. The suit alleges the now-defunct venture owned by Republican frontrunner Donald Trump defrauded more than 5,000 students who paid up to $35,000 to learn the billionaire real estate mogul's investment strategies. The New York Attorney General filed the suit in 2013.

23:35: Rolling Stone magazine's Matt Taibbi writes that a Donald Trump presidency would be a continuation of the politics of President George W. Bush.

23:30: House Speaker Paul Ryan - a top Republican in the US Congress - has said no Republican nominee can embrace racism or bigotry. Republican Party leaders have been nervous about Donald Trump's perceived failure to disavow support from extreme right and racist organizations including white supremacist groups.

23:16: A CNN/ORC poll found that both Democratic Party hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders would defeat Republican frontrunner Donald Trump if November 8's general election were held now. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, fared the best in hypothetical match-ups against Republicans. But Clinton - the Democratic frontrunner so far - would face a tight race against either Rubio or Cruz, the poll found.

23:13: DW correspondents are reporting live from the US state of Texas. Follow them on Twitter.

23:08: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has waded into the contentious US presidential primary after criticizing the "politics of fear" in a thinly-veiled swipe at Donald Trump, who has vowed to seal the US-Mexico border. "Building walls is a very bad idea - no matter who pays for them," Steinmeier told university students in Washington. "Let's guard against those politics of fear - they are dangerous for Europe and the US. They are bad for the world and, in the end, they will also be bad for our transatlantic relations," he added.

22:42: Exit polls by Edison Research found that in eight of nine states Democratic voters say they want a continuation of President Barack Obama's policies. About a third of voters said they wanted even more liberal policies. Obama is set to leave office in January as the US constitution bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms.

22:34: Republican voters are expressing strong anti-government sentiment, a new poll finds. Exit polls conducted by Edison Research in nine states found eight in 10 Republican voters disapproved of the federal government.

22:30: A lawsuit challenging Republican presidential hopeful Senator Ted Cruz's eligibility to serve as US president has been thrown out by an Illinois judge. The lawsuit challenged Ted Cruz's right to hold office due to his Canadian birth. The US constitution requires that holders of the executive presidency be "natural born" US citizens.