Trump, Clinton win in Mississippi

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been projected the winners of the presidential primaries in Mississippi.

Major news outlets immediately called the Democratic race as polls closed at 8 p.m. EST, and Trump was declared the winner on the GOP side about 30 minutes later.

{mosads}The two front-runners scored early wins on a night when a few other states are holding presidential contests, with Michigan being the biggest prize.

Clinton was widely expected to pick up a victory in Mississippi, which awards 36 delegates. She led Bernie Sanders by more than 40 points ahead of the Tuesday primary.

In the GOP race, Mississippi has only a modest 40 delegates, but the victory gives Trump bragging rights in territory that was once thought to be Cruz country.

Ted Cruz is projected to finish second in Mississippi, with Marco Rubio and John Kasich finishing a distance behind.

Polls have begun to close in Michigan, and it appears that there are tight races on both sides. Trump is winning early returns among Republicans, with Kasich a close second, while Sanders opened an early lead over Clinton.

Kasich is hoping for a strong showing in Michigan ahead of next week’s primary in Ohio, a winner-take-all state where he now serves as governor. 

Sanders, meanwhile, is hoping for an upset win in Michigan that could help him gain momentum in four delegate-rich states that will be voting next Tuesday: Ohio, Florida, Illinois and North Carolina.

Idaho and Hawaii are also holding Republican contests on Tuesday night. 

Clinton’s win in Mississippi continues her dominance in the Deep South. Some exit polls estimated that 6 in 10 voters in Mississippi were African-American. According to CNN, Clinton won 89 percent of those voters.

 

Sanders has struggled to win support from minorities, scoring his victories in parts of the country with more white, liberal voters.

Clinton has wins in Louisiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama and South Carolina, as well as Mississippi, and entered Tuesday leading Sanders by about 200 pledged delegates. She’ll take a strong majority of the 36 delegates that were up for grabs in Mississippi.

Updated at 9 p.m.