Trump, Clinton win Lincoln County
Published 10:03 am Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Of about 21,000 registered active voters, 8,384 cast ballots in the Mississippi presidential primaries in Lincoln County Tuesday. The result was a 47 percent win by Donald Trump for the Republican nomination and an 85 percent win for the Democratic nomination by Hillary Clinton.
About 6,000 of those votes were cast in the Republican primary.
Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield said the voter turnout is typically lower than that of county elections, like the 51 percent voter turnout in November. Bairfield said there were no hang-ups or issues, and all the votes — including absentee and provisional/affidavit — were counted by approximately 10 p.m.
Three ballots were held for voter ID.
With all precincts reporting in Lincoln County:
Republican primary:
• Donald Trump: 2,950 (47%)
• Ted Cruz: 2,246 (36%)
• John Kasich: 492 (7%)
• Marco Rubio: 358 (5%)
For U.S. House of Rep. 03, 3rd Congressional District
• Gregg Harper: 5,585
• Jimmy Giles: 484
Democratic primary:
• Hillary Clinton: 1,817 (85%)
• Bernie Sanders: 309 (14%)
For U.S. House of Rep. 03, 3rd Congressional District
• Dennis C. Quinn: 1,284
• Nathan Stewart: 506
Cruz topped Trump in the Caseyville, Pearlhaven, Vaughan and Alexander precincts. Rubio and Kasich both saw the most votes in the Halbert Heights precinct — 115 for Kasich and 58 for Rubio. Rubio won the Brignal precinct with eight votes to Trump’s three and Cruz’s two.
Trump’s highest precinct total was at Enterprise, where he got 244 votes. Cruz got 178 there.
All candidates on the Republican ballot got at least one vote in Lincoln County.
Trump and Clinton easily won their races statewide.
The Clinton win continues the former secretary of state’s strong performance in the South, fueled by the heavy support of African-American voters.
Trump gained a huge margin among Republicans who wanted a candidate who “tells it like it is,” while Cruz ran strong among people who identify as very conservative and those wanting a candidate who shares their values, according to early results of exit polls conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
Early results of the exit polls also showed black voters overwhelmingly chose Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. She also won a sizeable majority among white voters, who were about a third of overall Democratic primary voters Tuesday.
Before Tuesday, Clinton had won primaries in every state that neighbors Mississippi.
Cassandra Welchlin, 42, of Jackson, is director of the Mississippi Women’s Economic Security Initiative. She said she was voting for Clinton because she believes Clinton will be a champion for the causes her group supports.
“I represent women across the state, women’s issues around women’s economic security and around access to affordable child care, living wages, higher wages, equal pay,” Welchlin said outside the Capitol in Jackson. “And I just believe Hillary will represent those issues and has been representing those issues for women across the country. And I would like to see a woman president.”
Jim Owen, 74, of Bay St. Louis, said he believes Trump’s detractors are listening but not getting the message.
“He doesn’t say wrong things,” Owen said outside a beachside church where he voted in the Republican primary. “He says them incorrectly.”
Owen knows something about presentation. He moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Branson, Missouri, last year after a long career as a country music singer and songwriter. He wrote the hit “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man,” among others. His GOP dream ticket would be Trump at the top with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as his running mate.
“I’d like to see them run together, but I don’t think it will happen because I don’t think they like each other enough,” Owen said.
Mississippi was awarding 40 Republican and 36 Democratic delegates in the presidential race.
Trump and Cruz campaigned in Mississippi on Monday, and John Kasich was in the state last week. Marco Rubio has not personally campaigned in the state, but like other candidates he is promoting local endorsements. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant endorsed Cruz on Monday.
Clinton and Sanders concentrated on Michigan, which also had primaries Tuesday. Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for his wife last week in Jackson.
Jennifer Joy Jameson, 29, a folklorist from Jackson, described herself as “a person of faith.”
“That informs my vote for Bernie Sanders because I believe Bernie’s platform is one that embraces all Americans, all different types of folks, and that is essential to progress in our nation,” Jameson said outside the state Capitol.
Because Mississippi ballots were set weeks ago, they still contained names of candidates who have dropped out of the race for the White House. That issue prompted several inquiries by voters, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann’s office said in a news release.