WASHINGTON (AP) — For Donald Trump, the five-state East Coast round of primary voting Tuesday was about gobbling up enough delegates to tamp down the high risk of a catfight over the presidential nomination at the Republicans' summer convention.

For Bernie Sanders, it was a day of reckoning unlike any before it. Hillary Clinton is on the cusp of closing down his remaining Democratic presidential hopes.

Voters in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware put their stamp on the race Tuesday.

BULLY FOR THE 'BULLY'

Say the voters:

—"I think Cruz would do an excellent job. But I think Trump is a bigger bully. That may sound strange, but I think that's kind of what we need." — Laura Seyler, 63, on why she voted for Trump in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, despite being a fan of his leading rival, Ted Cruz.

—"His slurs, his negativity, his racism, the comments that he makes about different ethnic groups — I just find it appalling." — Loretta Becker, a pharmaceutical sales representative, explaining how the desire to stop Trump motivated her to vote for Clinton in Warwick, Rhode Island. Another motivation: "I really loved having Obama for president and now having Hillary as a president, feeling like she'll do a great job and knowing that she's the best candidate and wanting to vote for her and support her."

—"I've been feeling the Bern about six months. I initially was not so certain, thinking oh, great, another old white guy, but his message has really been resonating with me. It's consistent and I have a little Clinton fatigue." — Jessica Archer, an artist from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on why she voted for Sanders.

—"I believe he is the most level-headed one of the candidates in this scary, scary bunch of candidates that we have." — Kelley Carey, 48, a nurse from Glastonbury, Connecticut, on why she chose Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the Republican field.

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STATE OF PLAY

Of the three Republicans left, only Trump has a hope of clinching the nomination during the remainder of the primary season, and it's a tough road for him. If he gets the "knockout" he hoped across the five states voting Tuesday, that would sweeten his odds of securing a majority before July.

But everyone is readying for the prospect of a contested convention, the likes of which have not been seen in decades. A leading scenario: Trump comes into the convention with a delegate lead, but short of the needed majority, forcing more than one ballot. Delegates who had been divvied up according to the results of primaries and caucuses start becoming free to side with another candidate. That's when the claws come out.

As he has for so many months, Sanders attracts the large crowds, the passion, the vigor and commitment of youthful supporters — pretty much everything a candidate dreams of except the most important thing: a collection of delegates who can take him over the top. He has an almost impossible — he now concedes "narrow" — path to victory against a front-runner who's had more of a fight on her hands than anyone who isn't named Sanders saw coming.

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CURVEBALLS

The Tuesday contests are closed to Democrats and Republicans, meaning no flood of independents, and that's a particular concern for Sanders — he calls it a handicap. He is also more apt to thrive in caucuses, which require a commitment of time from supporters and a level of organization that play to his strengths, and these are primaries.

The Pennsylvania race is an enigma wrapped in the chaos of the GOP contest. Most of the GOP delegates — 54 — are being directly elected by voters, with their names listed on the ballot but no information about which candidate they support and no obligation for them to have to line up with one of them. The other 17 delegates go to the statewide winner of the popular vote. So Pennsylvania won't solve all mysteries.

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THE SCORECARD

—Going into Tuesday's contests, Clinton was 82 percent of the way to capturing the Democratic nomination, with 1,946 delegates to Sanders' 1,192. Those totals include both pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses and superdelegates, the party insiders who can back the candidate of their choice regardless of how their state votes. It takes 2,383 total to win the Democratic nomination, so she needs 437 in remaining contests. She and Sanders will be dividing 384 delegates from the primaries Tuesday.

—Trump went into Tuesday 62 percent of the way there. He had 845 delegates, with 1,237 the magic number to clinch, so he was 392 short. He, Cruz and Kasich were competing for 172 delegates Tuesday.

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SENATE SCRAMBLE

It's not all about the White House.

Maryland voters were picking candidates for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Barbara Mikulski for 30 years. In the polarizing Democratic contest, Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards — who could become just the second black woman elected to the Senate — competed fiercely for the nomination. Republicans are outnumbered 2-1 by Democrats in Maryland but GOP governor Larry Hogan is popular and contenders for the Republican Senate nomination see possibilities for success in the fall.

In Pennsylvania, it's an establishment pick versus a maverick in the Democratic race to challenge Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in November. The Democratic Party recruited Katie McGinty, a longtime state and national environmental policy official, and poured millions of dollars into her campaign. She's competing against Rep. Joe Sestak, who narrowly lost to Toomey in 2010 and has been spurned by the party's insiders.

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DEMS ENERGIZED

In early surveys of Pennsylvania voters, Democratic voters — whether they're Feeling the Bern or not — are feeling the energy. About seven in 10 Democratic voters in Pennsylvania said the campaign has energized their party rather than divided it. Not so among Republicans — 6 in 10 GOP voters said the Republican campaign has divided the party; only 4 in 10 said it has been energizing for the party.

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THE TIMELINE

Polls in all five states close at 8 p.m. EDT. Delaware might have half its vote counted by a little after 9 p.m. Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island should have half their vote reported by around 10 p.m., with Maryland getting there by 10:30 p.m. Delaware should have 90 percent of its votes counted before 10 p.m., Pennsylvania and Rhode Island by 11 p.m., Connecticut and Maryland closer to midnight.

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YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT POLITICS

It makes strange bedfellows. After Tuesday, a new alliance will make its debut as Kasich steps back in the May 3 Indiana primary to let Cruz soak up the anti-Trump vote. In return, Cruz will essentially let Kasich have at Trump in New Mexico and Oregon later in the calendar. It's a late-in-the-game compact to crystalize anti-Trump sentiment instead of having the voters who don't like him split between two other choices.

It's unclear how far each partner in the arrangement will go to clear the path for the other. They are both pulling back on campaign events in the states they are supposedly ceding to the other. But Kasich said people in Indiana who like him ought to vote for him anyway.

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Associated Press writers Michael Rubinkam in Hamburg, Pennsylvania; Rodrique Ngowi in Warwick, Rhode Island; Matt O'Brien in Pawtucket, Rhode Island; and Dave Collins in Glastonbury, Connecticut, contributed to this report.