Vote counting underway in GOP's Kansas, Maine caucuses

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DEVELOPING: –  Vote counting was underway late Saturday afternoon in Kansas and Maine in their Republican caucuses.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, scored what amounts to a moral victory, winning the backing of conservatives attending the annual CPAC convention.

Five states are holding either a primary or caucus, with rivals trying to slow Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the Republican and  Democratic front-runners' march to their respective party’s presidential nomination.

Republicans are caucusing in Kansas, Kentucky and Maine, while Democrats are caucusing in Kansas and Nebraska. Republicans and Democrats also are voting Saturday in the Louisiana primary.

Maine Democrats caucus on Sunday, while voters in both parties go to the polls in the Puerto Rico primary.

Cruz is hoping to do well in Kansas, Kentucky and Maine caucuses, and the Louisiana primary. A good showing would help him secure his position as the No. 2 GOP candidate ahead of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. But neither appears to have a path toward winning enough delegates or the nomination. 

"Being a conservative cannot just be about how loud you're willing to scream ... or about how many names you call people," Rubio said Saturday at CPAC, the annual gathering of conservatives, just outside of Washington.

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