Bernie Sanders was not supposed to win Michigan.
In the last poll released before Tuesday’s primaries, conducted by FOX 2 Detroit and Mitchell Reasearch & Communications, the Vermont Senator trailed Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 37 points in Michigan. FiveThirtyEight gave Clinton a 99 percent chance of winning the state.
Sanders beat Clinton 50 percent to 48 percent. The win comes despite Clinton’s heavy campaigning in the Detroit area, an encouraging sign for the Sanders campaign.
The other Democratic primary of the night was in Mississippi. Clinton dominated Sanders in the Magnolia State, as she has throughout the South, winning 83 percent to 17 percent.
Sanders scored 65 delegates in Michigan and four delegates in Mississippi, bringing his total delegate count to 546*. Clinton won 58 delegates in Michigan and 29 delegates in Mississippi, bringing her total delegate count to 759. A candidate needs a total of 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
On the Republican side, New York businessman Donald Trump appeared to be back in form after a week of stumbles. Trump won Mississippi and Michigan and finished second in Idaho.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz continued his recent hot streak, winning Idaho and finishing second in Mississippi and Michigan.
Ohio Governor John Kasich had a strong third place finish in Michigan, finishing less than 1 percent behind Cruz in the state. Kasich’s showing in Michigan is a sign that his campaign efforts in the Midwest may be paying off; it also boosts hopes that Kasich will be able to win his home state on Tuesday.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio had a disappointing night, failing to finish higher than third in any of the four Republican primaries.
Trump won 25 delegates in Michigan, 24 delegates in Mississippi, 10 delegates in Idaho and nine delegates in Hawai’i. Cruz won 17 delegates in Michigan, 13 delegates in Mississippi, 14 delegates in Idaho and seven delegates in Hawai’i. Kasich won 17 delegates in Michigan. Neither Kasich nor Rubio won delegates in Hawai’i.
Trump currently leads the Republican race with 456 total delegates, Cruz is second with 363 delegates, Rubio is third with 153 delegates and Kasich is fourth with 54 delegates. A candidate needs a total of 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination.
The next stop in primary season is the Virgin Islands Republican Caucus on Thursday.
*Delegate counts in this article only include pledged delegates. Unpledged “superdelegates” are not included because they are not committed to a candidate until the party convention.
