| Washington bureau chief Zoe Daniel takes us through the Super Tuesday wash up | Super Tuesday is done and dusted and I'm back in rather chilly DC after a week in sunny Texas.
It was a week of tacos and barbeque capped off with an evening at the Redneck Country Club (yes, really) in Houston, where Ted Cruz held his watch party that turned into a victory shindig.
Donald Trump was still the dominator on Super Tuesday but Ted Cruz managed to win his home state, the crown jewel, delegate-rich Texas plus Oklahoma and Alaska - enough to keep the GOP race in a state of flux.
The Democrat side is starting to look a little more definitive. Hillary Clinton has 577 pledged delegates over Bernie Sanders' 394, but The Bern isn't giving up. He's committed to staying around until the National Conventions in July.
That's still some distance down this long, winding highway, so, let's pace ourselves. OK?
VICTORS
Donald Trump. He took seven states and remains the clear frontrunner for the GOP, but he didn't get the clean sweep he had hoped for.
Ted Cruz. He took three states, which was better than expected, although nothing like he would have aimed for B.T. (that's Before Trump).
Hillary Clinton. She is now the clear frontrunner for the Dems.
VANQUISHED
Bernie Sanders. He won four which is not bad but the margins weren't great apart from in his home state of Vermont.
Marco Rubio. The Republican actually finally won a state - Minnesota - but that performance didn't rate compared to his rivals. He also gave Donald Trump a good shake in Virginia but couldn't quite take it.
Ben Carson. He has repeatedly said he wouldn't pull out of the race but put out a statement to his supporters saying he can't see a path forward, and he's right, there isn't one for him.
FIRST NAME BASIS
Here's an observational question: Why are Democrats Hillary and Bernie so commonly referred to as Hillary and Bernie while the Republicans are called by their surnames? And what does that say about the style of the different campaigns?
I don't know the answer, just throwing it out there.
SPEAKING OF STYLE
Check out these screenshots of the various post-match locations for the candidates on Super Tuesday from our DC producer @RoscoeWhalan.
Donald Trump - luxury glitz.
Hillary Clinton - bright and breezy.
Bernie Sanders - simple and earthy.
Ted Cruz - Texan ... all the way baby.
THE EYES HAVE IT
"No, I was not being held hostage. No, I was not sitting up there thinking 'Oh my God, what have I done?'"
That's what former presidential hopeful Chris Christie told reporters during a press conference in New Jersey.
His comments follow Donald Trump's press conference on Super Tuesday night when Chris Christie, who has recently endorsed the mogul, was wearing what appeared to be a pained facial expression over The Donald's shoulder.
The press conference, it has to be said, ran excruciatingly long, leading social media users to focus more on Christie's sour face than the candidate's words, so much so that #freechrischristie was trending.
BY THE NUMBERS
Can Bernie Sanders still win the nomination? It's maths whizz heaven.
Take a look at The Green Paper and work it out, then let us know! We think it's hard yakka from here.
MEANWHILE
Former US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has popped up, urging Republicans to shun Donald Trump. In a speech on Thursday Mitt Romney called Donald Trump "a fraud" and "a phony". "I'm afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart," he said.
Donald Trump parlayed this zinger via Twitter: "I am not a Mitt Romney, who doesn't know how to win."
That said..
Take a look at this useful Politico piece that dispels a few myths about who Donald Trump's supporters actually are, it might surprise you.
And then there's also this rather telling nugget from @Nate_Cohn at fiverthirtyeight.com
ONE TO WATCH
Donald Trump will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, riling those Republicans who don't like his style or his message. His failure to swiftly reject an endorsement from former KKK leader David Duke the other day has further widened the gap.
GOP house speaker Paul Ryan put it this way: "I want to be very clear about something. If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry."
WHERE TO NOW ON THIS POLITICAL SUPERHIGHWAY?
Next up, Kansas, Kentucky (GOP), Louisiana, Maine (GOP), Nebraska (DEM) all this weekend.
Phew! It's been a super, crazy week, and there's more ahead.
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