Ted Cruz Wins Oklahoma's Super Tuesday Republican Primary 2016

Oklahoma City, OK — Ted Cruz is the winner in the 2016 Oklahoma Republican Super Tuesday presidential primary.

Donald Trump had the lead as the first precinct reports trickled in, but Cruz swiftly pulled ahead to claim the victory and 14 delegates.

Unofficial voting results with all precincts reporting:

Ted Cruz: 34.4%

Donald Trump: 28.3%

Marco Rubio: 26%

Ben Carson: 6.2%

John Kasich: 3.6%

• Super Tuesday National Results: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Seek To Dominate

Cruz successfully convinced most of Oklahoma’s Republican voters he’s the right man for the job as America’s president — or at least that he’s the right guy to beat Donald Trump for the party’s nomination. Cruz rallied supporters days before Super Tuesday in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, where he stood strong on his pro-second amendment stance and promised to give Oklahoma a voice.

Cruz found the most support in Beaver, Cotton and Roger Mills counties, according to Politico election results.

A record turnout was predicted for this primary election, with absentee ballots and early voting numbers surpassing 2012.

University of Oklahoma political scientist Keith Gaddie told KGOU polling showed Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were in a close race behind Donald Trump’s lead. The state has 43 Republican delegates up for grabs.

2016 Oklahoma Presidential Primary | InsideGov

Oklahoma uses a modified closed primary system, which means registered party members can only vote in their party’s primary and runoff primary elections. Registered Independents can vote in primary party elections if the parties give them permission. The Democratic Party has invited Independent voters in Oklahoma to participate in 2016-17 Democratic primaries, but the Republican party did not.

• Oklahoma 2016 Democratic Presidential Primary Results

Check back throughout the day for updates on the Oklahoma presidential primary race and results.

» Photos by Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons