Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton won considerably different types of victories Tuesday night in Rutherford County’s Republican and Democratic presidential primaries.
Trump, in a three-way fight with rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, won fewer precincts than Clinton did, and by generally narrower margins. Trump lost to Cruz, for example, in a cluster of five precincts along Highway 96 in the Blackman, Rockvale and Almaville areas on the western side of the county as well as in two precincts bordering Middle Tennessee State University. Rubio edged him out in the oddly shaped Discovery School at Reeves Rogers precinct that parallels the east side of North Rutherford Boulevard in the same vicinity.
Trump won in the rest of the county’s 49 precincts, though, scoring pluralities in 40 of them ranging from 31 percent in the Seigel Elementary precinct to 45 percent in the Creekmont General Baptist precinct. His only majority win came in the tiny Kingwood Heights Church of Christ precinct just north of MTSU’s campus.
Clinton, by contrast, won majorities ranging from 51 percent to 70 percent in 42 of the county’s 49 precincts, besting her lone remaining rival, Bernie Sanders, by between two and 42 percentage points. She lost to Sanders, though, in seven precincts grouped around the North Boulevard Church of Christ precinct, which includes the MTSU campus.
Trump v. Cruz and Rubio in Rutherford County’s March 1, 2016 primary
Yellow = a loss. Light gray = win by up to 10 percentage points. Medium gray = win by up to 20 percentage points. Dark gray = win by 20 percentage points or more.
Trump lost in a couple of precincts around Middle Tennessee State University and in the western part of the county along the Highway 96 corridor. He won by modest margins elsewhere, except for the tiny Kingwood Heights Church of Christ precinct just north of MTSU.
Clinton v. Sanders, by Rutherford County precinct, March 1, 2016 primary
Yellow = a loss. Light gray = win by up to 10 percentage points. Medium gray = win by up to 20 percentage points. Dark gray = win by 20 percentage points or more. Click or tap any precinct for details.
Clinton lost to Sanders in MTSU-area precincts but won elsewhere in the county, especially in the LaVergne and Eagleville areas. Click or tap any precinct for details.
Overall, Trump finished with 36 percent of the county’s Republican primary votes compared to Cruz’s 30 percent and Rubio’s 20 percent. Clinton won 57 percent to Sanders’ 42 percent. Final results will be released once the Tennessee Secretary of State certifies them, so the certified percentages may shift slightly.
Rutherford County’s next election is scheduled for Aug. 4, when county-level general election races will be decided as well as state and federal primary races. The general presidential election is set for Nov. 8.