As polls predicted, businessman Donald Trump trounced the competition in Tennessee with 39 percent of the vote on Super Tuesday.
“I voted for Donald Trump, even though I can’t see him being president," Donelson voter Judy Root said with a laugh. "But I think he’s the only one that can maybe get some things done.”
Root wasn't the only one a little surprised by her own decision.
Sara James, a stay-at-home mother of two who lives in Belle Meade, says she and her husband are active Trump supporters.
“I mean, I can’t believe I’m voting for Donald Trump," James said Tuesday outside the polls. "He seems to be able to give answers and be quick and really be for what this country stands for. But still, it is shocking that I’m voting for him.”
James said candidates like Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz are “almost scary in ways,” and that they’re “way too conservative” to win the presidency.
Trump won every county in Tennessee except Williamson, where Rubio came out on top. Rubio was also close in Davidson County. And Cruz was a close second in Memphis.
Eugene Oakley of Greenbrier wasn’t entirely sold on Trump, but says his business experience could be what America needs.
“Sometimes I think Trump is too hot-headed with decisions," he said. "But then you get like Rubio and the other ones, they may be too wishy-washy. And maybe the way Trump’s running his government … or his company, maybe that’s what we need, somebody who knows how to manage money.”
According to the Associated Press, exit polling showed nearly 6 in 10 Republican voters felt they had been betrayed by politicians from their party. They also said they were attracted to Trump's outsider status.
Cruz Disappointed
Cruz had big hopes for Tennessee. He and his super PACs spent more money on advertising than any other candidate. He also spent months building a massive ground operation, with deep roots in the tea party and evangelical movements.
Steve Gill has been working for months on Cruz's behalf. He says Trump tapped into a well of frustration about the way voters' lives are going.
“You know, people have taken a lot of junk, the last eight years. The economy hasn't gone well. And they have to take it," Gill said Tuesday night. "They may have to take junk from their boss. Junk from their spouse. They feel like they're being dumped on by everybody, and along comes this guy that doesn't take junk from anybody.”
The night wasn't a total loss for Cruz, however. By finishing second with 25 percent of the votes, Cruz picked up roughly a dozen of Tennessee's 58 delegates. Gill said that keeps him in the hunt for the Republican nomination if Trump's campaign falters.
Rubio also stayed above the 20 percent threshold, qualifying him for a slice of the state's delegates.
Copyright 2016 WPLN News
