Voters in five north-eastern US states will cast ballots in a series of primaries that could cement the leads of presidential front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Democrat Mrs Clinton and Republican Mr Trump hold sizeable leads in all five contests, according to recent polling.
Mr Trump’s rivals have already shifted focus away from the north-east.
Republicans Ted Cruz and John Kasich are pooling resources, courting voters in Indiana, Oregon or New Mexico.
This pact of allegiance between the two has been attacked by Mr Trump, a New York businessman, as a sign of weakness and desperation.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are poised for a dominating showing in one of the last multi-state primary days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Last week in New York the two frontrunners reasserted themselves after a string of stumbles both at the ballot boxes and in the headlines. This week they could consolidate their position at the top – or more.
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Democrat Clinton doesn’t have the nomination sewn up by Wednesday morning. She is in Philadelphia on Tuesday and might want to check out hotel suites near the site of July’s Democratic National Convention.
Republican Trump’s path to his party’s nomination remains more uncertain – but a strong result on Tuesday will edge him ever-closer to the magic 1,237 delegate mark and make wresting the prize from his grasp all the more difficult.
It looks like Mr Trump’s poor showing in Wisconsin three weeks ago was just a blip and not evidence of a campaign in decline. It proved that if the political stars aligned – united Republican opposition, a hostile local media and a string of missteps by the Trump team – the New Yorker is beatable. To the despair of the #NeverTrump forces, however, those circumstances may not appear again.
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island will hold primaries on Tuesday.
In the Republican race, the candidates are focused on blocking Mr Trump from gaining 1,237 delegates and so forcing a contested convention this July in Cleveland.
That would mean party delegates – Republican officials and activists – choose the nominee.
The hope of a contested convention is keeping Mr Kasich and Mr Cruz in the race. Both candidates have no chance of securing the nomination outright.
Meanwhile, Democrat Bernie Sanders is pushing hard for a win in Rhode Island, where Mrs Clinton’s lead is slimmer. He is also hoping for an upset in working-class Pennsylvania.
However, after Tuesday’s results, it is unlikely Mr Sanders will be able to overcome Mrs Clinton’s lead to become the Democratic nominee for president.