Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump kept up his electoral strength in the South on Tuesday, winning the Mississippi primary.
With the win, Trump topped Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, both of whom had been buoyed in the Magnolia State by high profile endorsements and campaigned there in recent weeks.
Cruz made a late stop in Mississippi on Monday, where he was endorsed by Gov. Phil Bryant and was joined by State Sen. Chris McDaniel — who lost a bitter primary battle to incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014.
Meanwhile, Kasich made two stops in the last two weeks in the state. Early on in his campaign, Kasich won the support of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.
In addition, Trump held one of his boisterous campaign rallies in Madison, Miss., on primary eve. By contrast, Rubio did not make much of an effort in the deep South state, having not made a campaign appearance there prior to Tuesday.
It is unknown how many delegates Trump will rake in, as Mississippi hands out their 40 delegates proportionally. Any candidate needs to reach the 15 percent threshold to win any delegates in the state.
Prior to Tuesday, the state had been polled scarcely, with the only poll released a week ago showing Trump with a 24-point lead over Cruz, 41-17 percent.
With the win, Trump adds another Southern state to the win column, having already won South Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana.
