The Latest: Voters head to polls in Northeastern primaries

The latest news on campaign 2016 as voters head to the polls in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware and Maryland.|

The Latest: Baltimore precincts delay voting by an hour

WASHINGTON - The Latest on campaign 2016 as voters head to the polls in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware and Maryland (all times Eastern):

7:45 p.m.

A judge ordered four Baltimore precincts to stay open an hour late Tuesday because they were late in opening, delaying the release of results in Maryland primary until 9 p.m.

Rep. Donna Edwards, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the state's open U.S. Senate seat, filed a request with the Baltimore Circuit Court to keep polling places in the city open until 10 p.m. because of the morning delays.

After Tuesday evening hearing that was disrupted by a small fire at the courthouse complex, Judge Althea Handy ruled that only four polling places would be kept open late.

However, the State Board of Elections will not release any results while any polling places remain open, so it won't release the results for Maryland's counties, even though their precincts were to all close at 8 p.m.

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6:52 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is spending much of Tuesday in Indiana promoting her plans for manufacturing and job creation.

Speaking at AM General, a car production plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, Clinton said she wanted to "revitalize manufacturing" as president. While she has largely steered clear of attacks on primary opponent Bernie Sanders, Clinton took one swipe at him, repeating a critique that he did not vote to fund the auto industry bailout.

Clinton said she doesn't know where "we would be if we had walked away from the auto industry. She added her "esteemed opponent in this primary voted not to provide the funding the auto industry needed."

Sanders has accused Clinton of mischaracterizing his record on the issue.

Clinton also pledged to bring people together as president, saying that "anger is not a plan."

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5:51 p.m.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is not expected to win any of the five states voting Tuesday, so he's holding a campaign rally instead inside an Indiana gym where one of the greatest sports movies about an underdog team was filmed.

Cruz plans to speak at what's known as the "Hoosier gym" in Knightstown, Indiana, which holds its primary May 3. The 1986 film "Hoosiers" starring Gene Hackman as the coach of a smalltown Indiana basketball team that wins the state championship was filmed in the nearly 100-year-old gym.

One of the film's most famous scenes is a stirring locker room pre-game speech Hackman gives his players.

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5:55 p.m.

Most Republicans going to the polls in three states Tuesday say they are voting for their candidate, rather than against his opponents.

Only a quarter of voters in Connecticut and Maryland say they voted for someone because they opposed the other candidates. And in Pennsylvania, even fewer - less than one in five - say they were casting a negative vote, according to early results of exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.

Pennsylvania GOP voters are not quite so sanguine. While over a third would be excited by Trump Administration, the idea scares a quarter of voters. Few voters have extreme emotions about Cruz or Kasich. While either candidate's victory would prompt excitement for less than 10 percent of voters, each would produce fear in less 20 percent of voters.

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5:30 p.m.

Few Democratic voters in three states holding primary elections Tuesday have a positive view of Wall Street.

According to early results of exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research, about 6 in 10 Democrats in Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania say Wall Street hurts the American economy.

Among Republicans, voters' feelings are more mixed about the influence of the financial sector.

In Pennsylvania, nearly half of Republicans say Wall Street harms the economy and nearly 45 percent say it is a positive force.

Connecticut Republicans are slightly more positive: Nearly half say Wall Street helps the economy and about 4 in 10 say it is detrimental.

In Maryland, more than half of Republicans see Wall Street as a positive with about a third saying it does more to hurt the economy.

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5:15 p.m.

Most Democratic voters in Pennsylvania casting ballots on Tuesday say they've been energized by the closely contested primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

But Pennsylvania Republicans say the opposite about the heated contest between billionaire businessman Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

That's according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.

About seven in 10 voters in Pennsylvania say the Democratic campaign has energized the party rather than divided it, while about 6 in 10 GOP voters say the Republican campaign this year has divided the party.

Only 4 in 10 Republican voters say they've been energized.

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2:50 p.m.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid says he does not think Bernie Sanders has a path to winning the Democratic presidential nomination.

Responding to questions at his weekly news conference Tuesday Reid declined to suggest Sanders should drop out or cede the ground to Hillary Clinton who's expected to post a strong showing in Tuesday's primaries.

He said Sanders is a good person who "has run a campaign that I think we've all recognized has been unique and powerful, and I think Bernie should do what he wants to do."

But asked whether Sanders has a path to the nomination Reid said: "No I do not."

He said that Sanders will do what he feels is appropriate and Sanders' No. 1 issue is what's best for the country.

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2:50 p.m.

Bernie Sanders is making his latest fundraising pitch by using a photograph of Hillary Clinton smiling up at Donald Trump that was snapped when she attended his wedding to Melania in 2005.

The Sanders email, signed by campaign manager Jeff Weaver and carrying the subject line "Trump," does not elaborate on the photo. It notes that "no matter what the Clinton campaign says, there is one candidate in this race Donald Trump said would make a great president" - meaning Clinton.

Weaver also writes that Clinton allies are accusing Sanders supporters of helping Trump by prolonging the Democratic primary.

The Sanders email arrives on a day when the Republican presidential primary leader provocatively wrote on Twitter that Sanders "has been treated terribly by the Democrats" and should run as an Independent.

Sanders faces increasingly long odds in the Democratic primary, with Clinton ahead of him both in pledged delegates awarded to state contest winners and in "super delegates" who also weigh in.

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2:45 p.m.

An FAA spokeswoman says Donald Trump's business jet is free to fly the contender for the GOP presidential nomination to campaign events once again.

Trump allowed the Cessna 750 Citation X's registration with the Federal Aviation Administration to lapse in January, but continued to fly the plane to some of his campaign appearances.

The FAA told plane's chief pilot earlier this month to stop flying the aircraft after The New York Times reported the expired registration.

FAA records show the plane was re-registered on Friday to a new owner, DT Endeavor I LLC, a limited liability company controlled by Trump. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown confirmed that it's cleared for flying once more.

The Cessna seats up to eight people. Trump also owns a Boeing 757 airliner and three helicopters.

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11:30 a.m.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Gov. Tommy Thompson are among the 18 delegates at-large who will represent the state at the Republican national convention this summer in Cleveland.

The Wisconsin Republican Party released the delegate names on Tuesday.

Under state party rules, all 18 of them are required to vote for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the first round since he won the state primary earlier this month. They can only switch to another candidate if they are released by Cruz or he fails to get a third of the overall vote.

Walker has endorsed Cruz but said he would back the eventual Republican nominee. Thompson has campaigned for Ohio Gov. John Kasich in Wisconsin.

Other delegates include Walker's wife, Tonette Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Attorney General Brad Schimel and state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

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8:15 a.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan concedes the "five-point" Republican legislative agenda he's pursuing in Congress could be construed as competing with policy points the GOP presidential candidates are pushing in the primary season. But he argues that the party shouldn't wait until its nominating convention in July to tell the public its priorities, including lowering the national debt, strengthening the military and easing government regulation of business.

In an interview on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday, Ryan says that if the party waits until its nominating convention to state its primary policy objectives, "it's too late." He says he doesn't intend to handicap the GOP presidential race or discuss the candidates since he's the party convention chairman. But Ryan adds that the GOP needs "a transition from being an opposition party to being a proposition party."

He says he's spoken to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich - the three candidates still in the race - but doesn't elaborate. Speaking of congressional Republicans, Ryan says, "We're not worrying about something that's out of our control, which is who is the nominee."

7:45 a.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says it would be a "great idea" to have a woman as vice president.

Speaking to MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Tuesday, as the polls in five Northeastern states prepared to open, Sanders said that there are many women who would be qualified and that he would consider as running mates should he win the nomination.

"Elizabeth Warren has been a real champion," Sanders said.

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7:30 a.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is voicing optimism he'll do well in Tuesday's presidential primaries but says "we are handicapped" because the states in play don't allow independents to participate.

Sanders declared on ABC's "Good Morning America" Tuesday that "I don't want to break the bad news to you, but the election is not over yet."

The Vermont senator said "we are going to fight all the way to the Philadelphia convention." But when pressed on whether he'd continue in the race even if rival Hillary Clinton secures enough delegates for the nomination, he said, "We are going to fight through California and then we'll see what happens."

In an interview on CNN Tuesday, he said, "We're in this until the end."

Asked on ABC if he would support Clinton unconditionally if she's the nominee, Sanders said he'd work hard to make sure no Republican wins the White House. But he said he wants know "what the agenda is going to be," if he's not the nominee.

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7:20 a.m.

Donald Trump says Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is using the "woman card" to get elected, saying that she is "pandering" to the electorate.

Speaking to Fox & Friends Tuesday, Trump said that he would "love to see a woman president, but she's a disaster," referring to Clinton.

"The only card she's got is to play the woman card," he said in the telephone interview.

Trump also reiterated comments against his Republican rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich, who announced a joint strategy Sunday to defeat Trump, saying that the partnership "makes them both look weak" and that it could backfire in upcoming races.

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7:15 a.m.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich says his pact Ted Cruz to collaborate on strategy against Donald Trump is a matter of resource allocation, and nothing more.

Speaking to NBC's "Today" Tuesday, as voters prepared to vote in five Northeastern states, Kasich insisted that his partnership with Cruz is not indication that he is giving up on his campaign.

"I'm not over there running town halls. I'm not over there running television ads," he said, referring to Indiana. "But I am in other states and I will be at the convention."

Kasich said "the fact is, I don't have unlimited resources," to campaign everywhere, noting that he is not campaigning in Indiana, where Cruz is expected to do well on May 3, and is instead shifting his resources to Oregon.

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3:00 a.m.

Donald Trump is aiming for a sweep of all five Northeastern states holding primaries Tuesday, leaving his rivals pinning their hopes of stopping the Republican front-runner on a fragile coordination strategy in the next rounds of voting.

For Democratic leader Hillary Clinton, wins in most of Tuesday's contests would leave little doubt that she'll be her party's nominee. Rival Bernie Sanders' team is sending mixed signals about his standing in the race, with one top adviser suggesting a tough night would push the Vermont senator to reassess his bid and another vowing to fight "all the way to the convention."

Clinton is already looking past Sanders, barely mentioning him during recent campaign events. Instead, she's deepening her attacks on Trump, casting the billionaire businessman as out of touch with Americans.

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