Super Saturday Recap: 2016 race moves to Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Maine and Nebraska

The 2016 presidential nominating contests moved forward with primaries or caucuses in five states on Saturday.

In the Republican race, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz claimed the first two victories of the night, winning in Kansas and Maine, while Donald Trump finished second in both. Cruz was the runner-up in close races that Trump won later in the evening in the Louisiana primary and Kentucky caucus. Marco Rubio and John Kasich finished well behind the two winners in today's contests.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders won caucuses in Kansas and Nebraska, while Hillary Clinton won the Louisiana Democratic primary.

For full results, the latest delegate counts and all the latest news and analysis, visit Decision 2016.

RELATED: Scenes across Super Saturday

Rubio Campaign Responds to Trump's Call to 'Drop Out'

Marco Rubio's campaign spokesman reacted to Donald Trump's call that the senator drop out of the presidential race by saying Trump is worried Rubio will win Florida and its delegates.

"Trump's history as a con artist is being exposed — he canceled CPAC today because he's not a conservative," campaign spokesman Alex Conant said Saturday night.

"Trump knows that Marco has the momentum in Florida and is afraid because he knows losing those 99 delegates to Marco will be a turning point in this race," Conant said.

Trump was projected to win the Louisiana primary and Kentucky caucus Saturday. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is projected to win Kansas, and Maine's Republican Party said Cruz won the caucus in that state as well.

Trump Celebrates Wins, Calls on Rubio to Drop Out

Donald Trump celebrated his wins in Kentucky and Louisiana Saturday, calling for Marco Rubio to drop out of the 2016 race and saying he wants a "one on one" contest against Ted Cruz.

"I think it's time now that he drop out of the race," he said of Rubio, who has won just one contest to date.

A relatively subdued Trump, who appeared at Trump International in West Palm Beach, congratulated Cruz on his wins in Maine and Kansas, though he said his own campaign "really didn't spend very much time" in either state.

"He should do well in Maine, because it's very close to Canada," he joked of Cruz. "Let's face it."

Just after he suggested he wanted a "one on one" race against Cruz, Trump also pushed for unity, saying that the party should "come together and stop this foolishness."

Alluding to suggestions that mainstream Republicans could mount a third party candidate if Trump is the nominee, Trump warned against the possibility of splitting conservatives in the general election.

"It 100 percent guarantees the election of the Democrat," he said, adding that the next president will name multiple Supreme Court justices.

The press conference was delayed while Trump awaited results from the GOP primary in Kentucky.

"I've been in competitions all my life. There is nothing so exciting as this stuff," he said when he began his remarks.

Trump Projected to Win Kentucky Caucus

NBC News projects Donald Trump will win the Kentucky Republican caucuses.

Clinton and Sanders share an audience, but no pleasantries

After speaking at the same event in Detroit late Saturday, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were within feet of each other, shaking hands on the ropeline.

But the two Democratic candidates didn't speak to each other.

NBC's Danny Freeman writes that Sanders was slated to go onstage after Clinton finished her remarks, but the two accidentally ended up shaking hands in the crowd at the same time. Then, Sanders seemed to realize Clinton was there and moved to the side, but then went onstage as Clinton stood directly in front of him.

Trump Delays Start of Press Conference, Waiting for KY Results

After briefly appearing in the room at the site of his planned press conference in Florida, Donald Trump went back behind closed doors, apparently waiting for final calls of the race in Kentucky.

NBC News and other networks have projected Trump to be the winner in Louisiana, but no call of the Kentucky race has been made yet.

Trump Projected to Win Louisiana

NBC News projects Donald Trump will win Louisiana.

Clinton: 'All Eyes Turn to Michigan'

Clinton at a Democratic event in Michigan congratulated Sanders on his Saturday wins, saying "I'm grateful to everyone who turned out," but said "all eyes" now turn to Michigan.

"We need to bring more people into our party," Clinton said, "and develop a pipeline for new leaders."

The former secretary of state then slammed the Republican candidates for their "insult fest" at the most recent Fox News debate. "You want to pull your hair out," she said.

"We have to win this election and we all know the stakes keep getting higher and the rhetoric we're hearing from the other side keeps sinking lower," Clinton said.

She also urged voters to get out and vote every two years, as well, because "we cant afford to let [Republicans] take the white house and keep the Congress -- they will rip away all the progress we've made under President Obama."

Clinton Takes Louisiana Primary

NBC News on Saturday projected Hillary Clinton will win the Louisiana Democratic primary.

Cruz Thanks Supporters After Kansas, Maine Wins

"We're bringing conservatives together," Cruz said to his supporters after being called the projected winner in both Kansas and Maine contests.

%shareLinks-quote="'To all the people who were supporting other candidates and who have come now to stand united, I say to you: 'welcome.'" type="quote" author="Ted Cruz" authordesc="GOP Presidential Candidate" isquoteoftheday="false"%

Rubio: We're Playing the 'Delegate Math'

At a press conference in Puerto Rico, which holds its contest tomorrow, Marco Rubio dismissed questions about what's shaping up to be a tough night for him, insisting that he's playing the "delegate math."

"We want to continue to increase our delegate total," he told reporters. "We knew this would be the roughest period in the campaign given the makeup of the electoral map."

"Every night that we have caucuses like there were tonight in three states, we continue to pick up delegates," he said. "Now there are clearly states in which some of my opponents do better than in other states, because it fits a profile that they've targeted. We understood that. We've continued to play the delegate math in this campaign because we understand that this is going to be a very different kind of primary where the delegates are going to count."

Rubio continues to insist that he will win his home state in Florida, despite polling averages that show him trailing Donald Trump.

"We're gonna win Florida and you'll find out on March 15th how confident we are," he said Saturday night.

Rubio failed to win any delegates in Maine, coming in fourth place there. In Kansas, NBC News has allocated Rubio six delegates tonight.

GOP and Dem Races in Louisiana Too Early to Call

NBC News characterized both the Republican and Democratic primaries in Louisiana too early to call when the polls closed at 9 p.m. ET.

Sanders Wins Nebraska

NBC News projects Bernie Sanders wins Nebraska Dem caucus.

Maine GOP Party: Ted Cruz Wins

Ted Cruz is the winner of Maine GOP Caucus. This is based on an announcement by the Republican Party Chair in Maine.

Bernie Sanders: 'We Have a Path Toward Victory'

Moments before the Democratic Party in Kansas declared Bernie Sanders the winner of its caucuses, Sanders told reporters that his campaign expected a win there and in Nebraska's contest.

"We have a path toward victory," he said, calling his performance in Kansas "a very good victory."

The winner of the Nebraska caucuses has not yet been projected.

%shareLinks-quote="If we continue to do well, some of these super delegates will come to us." type="quote" author="Bernie Sanders" authordesc="Democratic Presidential Hopeful" isquoteoftheday="false"%

Sanders conceded that he's not expected to do well in Louisiana, where polls will close shortly.

"We're going to do poorly in Louisiana," he said.

Kansas Dem Party: Sanders Wins

Bernie Sanders is the winner of Kansas Dem Caucus. This is based on an announcement by the Democratic Party in Kansas.

A Closer Look at Early Saturday Results

MSNBC's Steve Kornacki looks at the primaries and caucuses on Saturday.

Sanders Keeps up Clinton Attacks in Michigan

Speaking to backers in Michigan, which holds its primary on Tuesday, Bernie Sanders continued to hammer away at his economic message and ding Hillary Clinton as a backer of big money in politics.

"What I have to do as a candidate is be honest with you, because I believe that if we have the courage to look our problems right in the face, and if we don't bury them, we can address them, we can resolve them," he said at a campaign rally in Warren.

He continued to take explicit aim at Hillary Clinton for her support from a super PAC and her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs.

"Democracy is about a meeting like this when people come out and you can agree with me, you can disagree with me. You can vote for me, you can vote against me. That's called democracy," he said. "But what democracy is not about is billionaires buying elections."

Sanders plans to campaign aggressively in Michigan. His campaign plans three big rallies there on Monday in Kalamazoo, Dearborn and Ann Arbor.

Maine GOP Caucus Is Too Early to Call

With just 7 percent of the vote in, NBC News characterized the Maine GOP caucus as too early to call.

Louisiana voter: 'Republicans have just gone off the limb'​

Kasich Staffer Fired Over Domestic Violence Arrest

As people in five states cast their votes for the four remaining GOP presidential candidates on Saturday, John Kasich's campaign has fired one of its staffers over domestic violence charges.

The staffer, deputy digital director Blake Waggoner, was fired on Saturday when The Cincinnati Enquirer reached out about the November incident.

The campaign in a statement to NBC News said it was unaware of the charges until a reporter for the news website called.

"Obviously, this kind of behavior is abhorrent and completely unacceptable," campaign manager Beth Hansen said. "We were unaware of the incident concerning Blake, and he is no longer an employee of the campaign."

"God Bless Kansas": Cruz Celebrates Win While Campaigning in Idaho

Ted Cruz celebrated his win in the Kansas caucuses while campaigning in Idaho, which holds its primary on Tuesday.

"God Bless Kansas," he told a cheering crowd in Couer d'Alene, also noting early signs of a strong showing for him in Saturday's Maine caucuses.

%shareLinks-quote="The scream you hear, the howl that comes from Washington DC, is utter terror at what we the people are doing together." type="quote" author="Ted Cruz" authordesc="2016 GOP Presidential Hopeful" isquoteoftheday="false"%

In his remarks, Cruz also took a swipe at Donald Trump, whom he bested in the Kansas contest.

"You can talk about making America great again," he said, alluding to Trump's slogan. "You can even print that on a baseball cap. But the real question is do you understand the principles and values that made America great in the first place?"

Cruz's win in Kansas is his fifth so far and his third in a caucus state.

Cruz Is the Projected Winner in Kansas

NBC News is projecting Ted Cruz will win the Republican caucus in Kansas.

This Happened in Florida Earlier​

Donald Trump asked supporters to raise their right hand and pledge to vote. Thus, this photo:

RELATED: Images from Saturday's Trump rally

Ted Cruz Wins CPAC Straw Poll

Ted Cruz has won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C.

Four in ten activists at the conference, known as CPAC, picked Cruz as their preferred candidate, while Marco Rubio won 30 percent support, Donald Trump won 15 percent and John Kasich won eight percent.

Presidential hopefuls Cruz, Rubio and Kasich all spoke at the conference this weekend. But Trump, who was scheduled to speak Saturday morning, abruptly dropped out of the event late on Friday night, choosing to campaign in Kansas instead.

Read more about the poll here.

Kasich releases tax returns

Ohio Gov. John Kasich's campaign has released partial tax returns from the governor and his wife, Karen, from 2008 through 20014.

Their income over that seven-year period was a little bit over $5 million, including some funds from Kasich's former work as an author, an employee of Lehman Brothers and a FOX News commentator. (However, the returns don't include most of his time at Lehman, which he joined in 2001.)

They paid an average annual effective federal tax rate of 24.29 percent, the campaign said.

The family's income dropped significantly after Kasich's return to public service in 2011. In 2008, when he was still on the payroll at Lehman Brothers and serving on several corporate boards, the family's income was around $1.3 million. By 2014, it was just above $400,000.

The full returns are available here.

John Kasich: 'I'm With Harry Potter'

Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaking to a few hundred people at the Park Place Hotel in Traverse City, MI, said that he would rather not "call people names" and that by not going down that road he will not only raise the "bar in politics," but would win the GOP nomination anyway.

The candidate has routinely expressed frustration with his lack of press coverage, blaming it on the media's focus on covering candidates attacking each other.

"I'm with Harry Potter," the governor joked. "We're not going to the dark side."