Donald Trump Wins Massachusetts in a Big Way

Donald Trump, the billionaire and 2016 GOP presidential frontrunner, ran away with Massachusetts on Super Tuesday—with the election results called by Fox News and CNN and the Associated Press within moments of the polls closing.

The final percentages and delegate allocations are thus far unclear and won’t be clear until more of the results trickle in. There are 42 delegates up for grabs in the Bay State.

Winning Massachusetts is a significant pickup for Trump, since it proves Trump’s ability to win crossover voters from Democrats in a general election should he win the GOP nomination. Trump has proven he can win in both conservative red states, liberal blue states, and in purple battleground states.

According to the Boston Herald the night before the election, nearly 20,000 Democrats quit their party to register as “unenrolled”—which means independent—or Republican so they could vote in the GOP primary.

“Nearly 20,000 Bay State Democrats have fled the party this winter, with thousands doing so to join the Republican ranks, according to the state’s top elections official,” the Herald wrote. It went on:

Secretary of State William Galvin said more than 16,300 Democrats have shed their party affiliation and become independent voters since Jan. 1, while nearly 3,500 more shifted to the MassGOP ahead of tomorrow’s ‘Super Tuesday’ presidential primary. Galvin called both ‘significant’ changes that dwarf similar shifts ahead of other primary votes, including in 2000, when some Democrats flocked from the party in order to cast a vote for Sen. John McCain in the GOP primary. The primary reason? Galvin said his “guess” is simple: ‘The Trump phenomenon,’ a reference to GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who polls show enjoying a massive lead over rivals Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and others among Massachusetts Republican voters.

Trump’s win in Massachusetts comes as he also won Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. Trump has now won at least seven U.S. States. Results in Virginia, Vermont, and Oklahoma are too close to call at this time, although Trump has an early lead in Virginia over Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and is tied in Vermont with Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has an early lead in Oklahoma.