Democrat Sanders Narrowly Defeats Clinton, Trump Beats GOP Field

Senator Bernie Sanders won a surprising victory over Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary Tuesday.   

The race was extremely close and wasn’t called until 11:30 p.m., more than three hours after most Michigan polls closed.  The margin of victory was just two percentage points.

Sanders spoke to reporters in Florida late Tuesday, before the results were announced.

He said, “This has been a fantastic night in Michigan.  We are very grateful for all of the support we have gotten from that state.  And we look forward to going to Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and the other states that we will be competing in next week.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn’t acknowledge her narrow loss to Sanders.  She spoke to a crowd of supporters in Cleveland before the outcome of the race was known. 

“Now, I know we have a long way to go.  In fact, the future that I envision is going to take work from all of us, because I want to knock down every barrier that stands in the way,” said Clinton.

Clinton did win Mississippi’s Democratic primary.

On the Republican side of the ballot, Donald Trump handily won Michigan’s presidential primary Tuesday  with more than 36% of the vote.  He also won the Mississippi primary.

Trump thanked voters in Michigan and Mississippi after the victory, holding a news conference in Florida.

He said, “To get these kinds of numbers, where they call them immediately, is just something very special.  So, I want to thank the public.  I want to thank the people of Michigan.  I want to thank the people of Mississippi.  And it is such a great honor.”

Ted Cruz finished second in Michigan with 25% of the vote, narrowly beating John Kasich, who had 24%.  Marco Rubio came in a distant fourth with 9%.

By Tuesday evening, the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates had already moved on to campaign in key states holding primaries next week, such as Ohio, Florida and Missouri.