Donald Trump pads Republican delegate lead with wins in Michigan, Mississippi
Mar 8, 2016, 6:37 PM | Updated: 10:01 pm
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Concord, N.C., Monday, March 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Donald Trump padded his lead over other Republican presidential hopefuls on Tuesday with wins in the Michigan and Mississippi primaries.
Mississippi was his first win, where he received around 50 percent of the votes.
BREAKING: Donald Trump wins the Republican presidential primary in Mississippi. @AP race call at 8:41 p.m. EST. #Election2016 #APracecall
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 9, 2016
Michigan was called at 7 p.m. when all polls closed in the state.
Two other caucuses were held Tuesday — Idaho and Hawaii. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won Idaho. The polls in Hawaii didn’t close until 11 p.m.
In all, there were 150 GOP delegates at stake, and 179 Democratic delegates to be doled out. Some have referred to the day as Super Tuesday 2.
Michigan was the big prize. It’s the first big industrial state to weigh in, and should offer clues about how the candidates will play in important Midwest contests to come.
Michigan is not a winner-take-all state, so each candidate had a chance to win a share of its 59 delegates, including Kasich. He was seen as an obstacle to Trump as the race shifted to the Midwest.
“It’s not just the whole country that’s watching Michigan — now the world’s beginning to watch,” Kasich said Monday during a campaign stop in the state. “You can help me send a message about positive, about vision, about hope, about putting us together.”
Though he may have been seen as a speed bump for Trump, Kasich was a distant second when the race was called. His home state of Ohio hosts its primary next week and, if he fares poorly there, it could be the end.
The same could prove true for Marco Rubio, who needed a sign of life this week before Florida, his home state, hosts its primary March 15. He struggled in both Michigan and Mississippi.
With Kasich’s showing, the GOP race will unlikely become a two-man race between Trump and Cruz.
The Texas senator is sticking close to Trump in the delegate count — Trump led 384 to Cruz’s 300 on Tuesday afternoon — and with six states in his win column, he’s arguing he’s the only candidate standing between the brash billionaire and the GOP nomination.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
