Trump and Clinton projected to win Arizona’s primary3 min read

With 428 of 487 precincts reporting, Billionaire Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the projected winners of Arizona’s Presidential Preference Election.

Republicans

With 83 percent of Arizona’s precincts reporting, billionaire Donald Trump won 203,302 votes, or 46 percent, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz [R-Texas] won 98,719 or 22 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasish won 44,193 votes or 10 percent. Cruz won a majority by a mere 4 votes in Graham County, but all other counties leaned toward Trump. Statewide voter turnout was 47.68 percent.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio [R-Fla.], who dropped out of the race on March 15, won 69,887 votes or 16 percent. Mail-in ballots were distributed before Rubio withdrew.

Retired neurologist Ben Carson won 13,832 votes or 3 percent. Other candidates on the ballot but who have since withdrawn include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul [R-Ky.], businesswoman Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-S.C.], former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum [R-Penn.], former New York Gov. George Pataki and North Carolina politician Tim Cook. All earned less than 1 percent of the vote.

Arizona is a winner-take-all election for Republicans, meaning Trump will receive all 58 delegates.

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Democrats

Clinton won 209,576 votes, or 60 percent and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders [I-Vt.] won 128,823 votes, or 37 percent. Statewide voter turnout was 29.11 percent.

Other candidates on the ballot include former Maryland Gov. Martin J. O’Malley, who left the race Feb. 1, California real estate developer Roque “Rocky” de la Fuente, Florida lawyer Michael Steinberg, and anti-abortion activist Henry Hewes. De la Fuente, Steinberg and Hewes are not the ballot in most states. All won less than 1 percent of the vote.

Arizona awards Democratic delegates proportionally, meaning Clinton won 40 delegates while Sanders won 16.

Greens

Among Greens, Massachusetts physician Jill Stein won 507 votes, or 82 percent, while California activist Kent Mesplay won 108 votes, or 18 percent. Statewide voter turnout was 9.48 percent.

Stein won all of Arizona’s delegates.

Yavapai County

In Yavapai County, Trump won 13,117 votes, or 46.85 percent, followed by Cruz with 7,489 votes, or 26.75 percent, and Kasich with 2,630 votes, or 9.39 percent.

On the Democratic side, Clinton won 7,435 votes, or 55.72 percent, while Sanders won 5573 votes, or 41.76 percent.

Of the 82,003 registered voters eligible to vote in Yavapai County, 41,467 or 50.57 percent, cast ballots. There were 28,032 Republicans, 13,399 Democrats and 36 Greens who voted.

Coconino County

In Coconino County, Trump won 3,324 votes, or 39.18 percent, followed by Cruz with 2,843 votes, or 33.51 percent, and Kasich with 742 votes, or 8.75 percent.

On the Democratic side, Sanders won 6,941 votes, or 53.40 percent while Clinton won 5,738 votes, or 44.15 percent. Coconino County, where Sanders had two rallies this weekend, was the only county where Sanders won a majority.

Of the 45,385 registered voters eligible to vote in Yavapai County, 21,580 or 47.55 percent, cast ballots. There were 8,499 Republicans, 13,029 Democrats and 51 Greens who voted.

 

In some parts of the state, long lines at polling places meant some voters were still waiting casting ballots well past 7 p.m. when polls closed. In some parts of Phoenix, news sources reported that voters were ordering pizza while waiting more than 90 minutes to cast ballots.

Christopher Fox Graham

Christopher Fox Graham is the managing editor of the Sedona Rock Rock News, The Camp Verde Journal and the Cottonwood Journal Extra. Hired by Larson Newspapers as a copy editor in 2004, he became assistant manager editor in October 2009 and managing editor in August 2013. Graham has won awards for editorials, investigative news reporting, headline writing, page design and community service from the Arizona Newspapers Association. Graham has also been a guest contributor in Editor & Publisher magazine and featured in the LA Times, New York Post and San Francisco Chronicle. He lectures on journalism, media law and the First Amendment and is a nationally recognized performance aka slam poet. Retired U.S. Army Col. John Mills, former director of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs referred to him as "Mr. Slam Poet."

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