U.S. Republican Donald Trump has captured Oklahoma, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. As expected, Trump picks up Alabama, and its nine electoral votes. That's a plus-22% Romney state from 2012. The AP calls Tennessee for Trump – a state Mitt Romney won by 20 points in 2012. Eleven more electoral votes for Trump. Arkansas, meanwhile, is too early to call, immediately upon the closing of polls there. The Republican nominee was awarded South Carolina's nine electoral votes, giving him 40 for the night. The result was expected as the state has long been a Republican stronghold. He has won West Virginia and its five electoral votes. The Mountain State was one of the billionaire's biggest supporters in the Republican primary. He is popular for promising to bring back coal jobs. Hillary Clinton had largely been shunned for making comments perceived as an affront to the industry. The dynamic has resulted in one of the few states where Republicans did not shy from the brash businessman and instead looked to ride his coattails. Many Democrats for congressional and other races scrambled to distance themselves from Clinton and refused to endorse her. West Virginia has voted for Republican presidential candidates in each of the last four presidential races. Trump was also awarded Kentucky's eight electoral votes and Indiana's 11. Vermont gives Clinton three. These are the first states to be decided Tuesday in the 2016 general election. The wins were expected. Vermont has voted for a Democrat every election since 1988, while Kentucky has gone Republican every cycle since 2000. Indiana is normally a Republican stronghold but went for President Barack Obama in 2008. The Republicans captured it again in 2012 and Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, is the state's governor. Tuesday's vote is the fifth presidential contest in a row in which the state voted for the Republican candidate. That includes the 2000 election, when native son Al Gore lost the state to Republican George W. Bush. It takes 270 votes to win the presidency. Source: The Associated Press, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and The New York Times
