Donald Trump won the second-largest delegate prize up for grabs on Tuesday night with his first-place finish in Connecticut’s Republican primary.
Trump’s victory in the Constitution State comes just three days after the self-funded billionaire attracted around 3,000 voters to a campaign rally on Saturday in Waterbury, Conn.
The state was called for Trump by the Associated Press as soon as polls closed at 8 p.m.
Connecticut’s 13 at-large delegates are awarded proportionally based on the statewide results, while each of the state’s five congressional districts award three delegates on a winner-take-all basis.
If Trump finishes with 51 percent or more of the vote, he will walk away will all 13 of Connecticut’s at-large delegates.
State-level surveys of Republican voters showed Trump leading his next closest competitor, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, by nearly 30 percentage points in the days leading up to Connecticut’s GOP primary, while carrying a 40-point lead over rival Ted Cruz.
Trump is also expected to do well in the four other states — Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island and Delaware — holding their nominating contests on Tuesday. Recent polling has shown him leading his opponents by double digits in each state.
