MD Republican Primary Results: Trump Wins Easily

Good, old-fashioned voter angst gave New York billionaire Donald Trump an easy win in Maryland on Tuesday, say national media outlets, with Hillary Clinton easily defeating Bernie Sanders, too.

With hard-fought contests continuing for both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations – and the chance for a floor fight when the GOP delegates arrive in Cleveland in July – Maryland’s primaries and delegates will be in the spotlight Tuesday, April 26.

Trump easily won last week’s New York presidential primaries with 60 percent of the votes, followed by dogged Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 25 percent and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 15 percent. And Clinton handed Sanders a defeat in their home state.

Towson University professor Antonio Campbell says don’t expect any surprises Tuesday night when Maryland votes are tallied.

Check back on this page after polls close for primary results.

• Precincts and Polling Places
• Republican Party Delegate Selection Process

With early voting results tabulated, the Maryland Board of Elections shows Trump with 54 percent of those votes, followed by Kasich with 24 percent and Cruz with 20 percent.

On the Democratic side, those early returns had Clinton leading Sanders 68 to 29 percent.

Trump Takes a Victory Lap

Trump was flanked on stage Tuesday by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, members of the Robertson family who star in “Duck Dynasty,” his children and wife, Melania.

The speech was plagued by poor audio at first.

He noted that as he heads to Indiana to campaign on Wednesday, he’ll spend time with former Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight, who has endorsed Trump.

“We will beat Hillary so easily,” Trump said.

He termed his five-state win tonight a diverse victory.

“I think this one is maybe the biggest of them all,” he said of Tuesday’s sweep.

While American jobs have been "sucked away," a Trump administration will impose consequences on those companies so they stay put.

“We’re gonna win on the first” ballot at the GOP national convention in Cleveland, he predicted.

Ted Cruz Bashes Both Trump, Clinton

Ted Cruz, speaking at a rally in Indiana, urged voters to stop what the media has preordained as a Trump nomination.

"Tonight, this campaign moves back to more favorable terrain," the Texan said, as he focuses on upcoming votes May 3 in Indiana, May 10 in Nebrask and June 7 in Montana and New Mexico.

Cruz told the audience he has a major announcement on vice presidential vetting. Hillary Clinton has picked Donald Trump as her vice presidential nominee, he joked.

When Trump was recently asked to name the top functions of federal government, he said security, health care, education and housing.

Clinton would agree with those priorities, Cruz said, to boos from the crowd.

“Donald and Hillary are flip sides of the same coin,” Cruz said.

What Voters Said Tuesday

Terri Cunningham of Ellicott City said that she hasn’t voted most of her adult life, but this year was different. “I’m here to vote for Trump,” Cunningham told Patch with assuredness. “I want a change—I want a big change.”

In fact, Cunningham said she felt so passionate about the presidential race this year, she made sure she had conversations with her four daughters so they would vote in the Maryland primary, as well. She said she wasn’t concerned with how they voted but told them: “I want to see the sticker” proving they cast their ballots. (Hopefully, they were not voting in Baltimore City, where the stickers didn’t make it to all the polling places.)

Trump’s lack of government experience was a draw for the Ellicott City resident.

“I like that he’s not a career politician,” Cunningham said of Trump. “He’s not owned by corporations. I like that he’s funding his own campaign.”

She also said she wanted the borders closed and jobs to be added to the economy rather than outsourced.

Towson Expert: Voters Like Trump's Message

For years, Maryland has morphed from a solidly Democratic state to one with only a few Democratic majority counties, he says. The changing electorate likes what Trump has to say, and his deviation from the political playbook.

Trump hasn’t spoken about economy enough for that to be the galvanizing issue with voters. So what does Campbell credit with the businessman’s popularity in Maryland?

“It it’s anything, it’s the anti-politician vibe. I think it’s an American inferiority complex,” Campbell told Patch. “When Trump talks about America not winning any more, people understand that.”

According to Real Clear Politics, polls of Maryland Republicans done in recent weeks show Trump holding on to his sizable lead with 41 percent support, followed by 27 percent for Kasich and 23 percent for Cruz.

The hard feelings among the GOP candidates stepped up a notch when the Kasich and Cruz camps said they are coordinating efforts in the remaining primary states so that one of them is the clear leader, all as part of a game plan to stop Trump from reaching the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination.

On Sunday night that meant Kasich saying he won't spend resources in Indiana and Cruz clearing a path for the Ohio governor in Oregon and New Mexico.

“To ensure that we nominate a Republican who can unify the Republican Party and win in November, our campaign will focus its time and resources in Indiana and in turn clear the path for Gov. Kasich to compete in Oregon and New Mexico, and we would hope that allies of both campaigns would follow our lead,” Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe said in a statement to Politico.

Trump took to Twitter to bash both of his challengers, accusing them of collusion and desperation.

Dr. Darlene Antezana -- the chair of the History, Political Science, Geography and Anthropology Department at Prince George’s Community College – tells Patch that Trump’s support comes mainly from Maryland’s more rural counties, including the Eastern Shore, where the Republican Party has gained voters. In fact, Trump held a rally last Wednesday at t Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin – a small town on the road to Ocean City – that drew thousands more than the school could accommodate.

Campaigns Continue to Battle

While the odds may be stacked against the lesser-known candidates, none of them seem prepared to bow out before all primary voters have had their say. While Trump has repeatedly called for both Cruz and Kasich to drop out, Kasich maintains that he is the only GOP candidate who can defeat Clinton in the November election.

Kasich has consistently polled in second place among Maryland Republicans planning to vote Tuesday.

Kasich has won only his home state, to date, but his supporters in recent days have talked about the likelihood that he could win the nomination at the Republican national convention as a divided GOP gathers in July with no clear favorite.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who endorsed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has not endorsed any of the remaining contenders since Christie ended his race. But Hogan, a Republican whose approval ratings are soaring, has said he does not think Trump should be the party’s nominee.

Hogan has made it clear in interviews that he’s not a fan of Trump.

“I’m not a Trump fan,” Hogan told The Associated Press. “I don’t think he should be the nominee. At this point in time, I have no idea who the candidates are going to be or who I’m going to vote for.”

Images via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons