VT 2016 Republican Full Super Tuesday Results: Trump ekes out victory over Kasich in Vermont

BOSTON, MA - Hours after polls closed in Vermont, the state handed Republican front-runner Donald Trump his seventh and final Super Tuesday win.

The headline-grabbing New York businessman led polls going into the election, but spent the night neck-and-neck with Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The Associated Press called the race in Trump's favor just after midnight. With nearly 98 percent of precincts reporting, uncertified final results show him with just over 32 percent of GOP primary voters' support, compared with Kasich, who ended at roughly 30 percent.

Final results (not yet certified)

• Donald Trump: 32.5%
• John Kasich: 30.4%
• Marco Rubio: 19.3%
• Ted Cruz: 9.7%
• Ben Carson: 4.2%

Independent voters and Vermont's strong bloc of Bernie Sanders supporters appear to have muddied the waters. Nearly 4 out of 10 GOP voters voters identified as independent today in Vermont, according to early exit polling from ABC news.

Those demographics favored Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who previously took second to Trump in neighboring New

• ALSO: Results in Vermont's Democratic primary

Vermont was one of the first litmus tests in tonight's series of primaries. Explore the delegate allocation process below.

What the polls said

The latest numbers from a Vermont Public Radio poll showed the state’s independent streak paying off for anti-establishment candidate Trump. Compare Tuesday's results to the following predictions:

• Trump with 32 percent of the vote
• Florida Sen. Marco Rubio coming up second with roughly 17 percent
• Texas Sen. Ted Cruz: 10.5 percent
• Ohio Gov. John Kasich: 10 percent
• Dr. Ben Carson: 3.1 percent

» Photos by Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons