Daily Deacon

Trump Wins North Carolina Primary

by Katie Dickens, Anabel Love, Todd Gilbert, Rachel Hirsch, Karlee Spirit, Brandon Liu

Donald Trump won the North Carolina primary Tuesday night according to CNN projections, beating second-place Ted Cruz.

According to incomplete returns, The New York businessman won 40.5% of the vote, followed by Ted Cruz’s 36.5% and John Kasich’s 12.5%, with 81% of precinct’s reporting.

At the Arts Council Theatre polling place on Coliseum Drive, Tim Scronce, a resident of Winston-Salem, voted for Trump on his way home from work. “There is no better candidate than Trump,” Scronce said. “We have had enough of political correctness and America needs something new. We also need a business man that will know how to improve our economy.”

After Tuesday’s vote was counted, Trump has 619 of the 1,237 needed for the nomination, followed by Cruz’s 394, Rubio’s 167 and Kasich’s 136. Florida awarded all its 99 delegates to Trump and Ohio awarded its 66 delegates to Kasich, while North Carolina awarded its 72 delegates proportionally.

At a viewing party organized by Wake the Vote, Ryan Wolfe, a junior politics and international affairs major from New Jersey, said he supports John Kasich but believes that if anybody is going to put up a fight against Trump that it will be Cruz.

Upon the projection of Trump’s victory in North Carolina, Wolfe shook his head in frustration. “I think it’s sad because he’s a politician that pits races against each other and plays on the fears and social prejudices of different groups,” Wolfe said. “I think a lot of his ideas that are extremely radical won’t work if he gets elected because they will not get through Congress or the Senate.”

Rubio, who came in fourth place with 81% of precincts reporting in North Carolina, suspended his bid for the presidency Tuesday night after losing his home state to Trump, telling his supporters there was nothing else they could have done. At 7:55 pm, after polls had closed at 7 pm and votes were being counted, Trump declared his victory in Florida over Marco Rubio. Shortly after 8 pm, CNN called the win for Trump, sealing Rubio’s fate.

Before dropping out of the race, Rubio had support from Wake Forest students. Lindsay Graham, a junior from Houston, Texas, is a registered Republican who missed the deadline for out of state absentee voting applications but still supports Rubio.

“He is a moderate conservative and not as bullheaded as Cruz or Trump,” Graham said before the primary results were announced. “He is the most promising of the new generation of Republican candidates.”

Allan Louden, chair of the communication department at Wake Forest, said that after past victories Trump controlled the next day’s narrative, but that was not the case tonight. “He was reasonable and had a moment to be gracious to allow people to be assured and Republicans to come back to him,” Louden said. “He took controversy out of his speech for tonight.”

Today’s primary carries more weight than in past years because it is held in March instead of May, when the nominees from both parties are usually established. North Carolina is a swing state, and expected to be a top priority in the general election.

Tillman Drew, an active Republican and sophomore from Birmingham, Alabama, chose to vote in North Carolina where he felt his vote had more influence.

“I am supporting John Kasich in the primaries after the other candidates have forsaken their original attitudes or platforms while he has remained steadfast in his policy and emphasis on healing in the country between peoples,” Drew said. “Obviously his weakness has been rallying the majority of Republicans behind his cause and relating to younger voters.”

Trump’s media presence has been extensive, with supporters claiming he is the only one who will be able to take on Clinton or Sanders. He has been criticized for the violent behavior of his supporters displayed at many of his rallies. He has recently been criticized for previously saying that he would pay the legal fees of his supporters who fight protesters.

He announced his bid for presidency on June 16, calling for a wall between the US and Mexico that Mexico would have to finance, and has garnered unprecedented public support. He has since made similarly controversial claims, such as denying Muslim immigration to the US and sidestepping disavowing white supremacy groups that support him.

During his speech after his projected wins in North Carolina and Florida, Trump promised American companies would make their goods in the United Sates if he wins the general election. He said American companies like Apple should not be allowed to manufacture outside the the United States, asserting “We should not allow it to happen.”

On March 1st, the first Super Tuesday, Trump called himself a “unifier” after recording wins in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont and Arkansas. Ted Cruz won his home state of Texas, as well as Oklahoma and Alaska. Marco Rubio won one state, coming out on top of the Minnesota caucus.