1 of 5 | Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump both took easy victories in Tuesday's Arizona primary. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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PHOENIX, March 22 (UPI) -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each took big wins in Arizona but also big losses in Utah to rivals Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, respectively, on Tuesday night. Sanders also won Idaho.
Trump took home all 58 delegates in Arizona with 47.1 percent of the vote over Cruz's 24.7 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 10 percent. Clinton coasted to victory in Arizona as well with a 57.8 percent to 39.7 percent lead over Vermont Sen. Sanders. Clinton claimed 41 delegates and Sanders nabbed 22.
In Utah Cruz swept all 40 delegates with 69.2 percent of the vote to Kasich's 16.9 percent and Trump's 14 percent. Sanders crushed Clinton with nearly 80 percent of the votes -- good for 18 delegates -- to her 19.8 percent of the votes for five delegates.
Sanders also had a good night in Idaho, with another crushing victory over Clinton, 78 percent to 21.2 percent, as he tries to close Clinton's delegate lead. Sanders earned 17 delegates there and Clinton won five. The Republican primary in Idaho took place March 8 with a Cruz win.
For Republicans, Arizona, with its 58 delegates, is the third-largest winner-take-all state of the campaign. That means there is no reward for finishing second and no punishment for failing to run up the score.
Arizona is not a winner-take-all state for the Democrats, meaning the 85 delegates at stake there will be awarded proportionally, based on the spread between the two candidates, and how they perform in each of the state's congressional districts. Clinton's big victory will likely off-set Sanders picking up the victories in Utah and Idaho.
Unlike the largest prize of the night, smaller Utah offers a chance for the trailing candidates, Cruz and Sanders, to regain some of the momentum after both men failed to win any of the five states in play last Tuesday.
Clinton has struggled in caucus states, where the turnout is smaller and typically draws only the most politically attuned voters. With Idaho, another caucus state, it gave Sanders a 2-for-3 night.
In Utah, where the deeply conservative Mormon vote is key to success, it is Cruz, not Trump, who had the advantage. Cruz has campaigned heavily for evangelical Christian votes in other states, a message that resonates with many Mormons, as well.
Trump actually struggled in Idaho, gaining just 28 percent of the vote, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio garnered nearly 18 percent. Rubio has since left the race.
