Clinton, Trump add to delegate leads with Arizona victories

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under a fresh cloud of overseas violence, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton added to their delegate troves today with victories in Arizona as the 2016 presidential contest turned into a clash of would-be commanders in chief.

Long lines and high interest marked primary elections across Arizona, Utah and Idaho that were largely an afterthought for much of the day as the world grappled with a new wave of bloody attacks in Europe. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a series of blasts in Brussels that left dozens dead and many more wounded.

Yet there was a frenzy of activity in Utah as voters lined up to caucus and the state Democratic Party's website crashed due to high traffic. In Arizona, voters waited two hours to cast primary ballots in some cases, while police were called to help with traffic control and at least one polling place ran out of ballots.

Trump and Clinton both enjoyed overwhelming delegate leads heading into today's contests.

Trump's Arizona victory gives him the all the state's 58 delegates, a setback for his underdog challengers. On the Democratic side, Arizona's delegates are awarded proportionally.

Arizona and Utah featured elections for both parties, while Idaho Democrats also had presidential caucuses.

Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republicans Ted Cruz and John Kasich hoped to reverse the sense of inevitability taking hold around both party front-runners. Anti-Trump Republicans are running out of time to prevent him from securing the 1,237 delegates needed to claim the nomination.