# 2016 Mississippi Republican presidential primary

Elections in Mississippi :
Federal government
U.S. President
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
Dem
2004
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Dem
Rep
2016
Dem
Rep
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate
1817
1820
1820 sp
1823
1823
1826 sp
1828
1830 sp
1833 sp
1835
1838
1839 sp
1841
1844
1846 sp
1848 sp
1850
1852 sp
1852 sp
1854 sp
1859
1870
1874
1874 sp
1876
1880
1883
1886
1886 sp
1889
1892
1894 sp
1899
1900
1900 sp
1904
1906
1908
1910 sp
1912
1916
1918
1922
1924
1928
1930
1934
1936
1940
1941 sp
1942
1946
1947 sp
1948
1952
1954
1958
1960
1964
1966
1970
1972
1976
1978
1982
1984
1988
1990
1994
1996
2000
2002
2006
2008
2008 sp
2012
2014
2018
2018 sp
2020
2024
2026
U.S. House
1801
1802
(Terr sp)
1806
1817
1819
1820
1822
1824
1826
At-large sp
1828
At-large sp
1830
1832
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1858
5th sp
1859
1865
1868
1869
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1934
1940
1942
1946
1950
1956
1962
1968
3rd sp
1972
1980
1981
4th sp
1982
1984
1986
1988
1989
5th sp
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2004
2006
2008
1st sp
2010
2012
2014
2015
1st sp
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
State elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2020
2023
Gubernatorial elections
1817
1819
1821
1823
1825
1827
1829
1831
1833
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1861
1863
1865
1869
1873
1877
1881
1885
1889
1895
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027
State Senate elections
2011
2015
2019
2023
House of Representatives elections
2011
2015
2019
2023
Attorney General elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Ballot measures
2001
Flag referendum
2004
Amendment 1
2020
Initiative 65
Measure 3 :
City of Jackson
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2014
2017
2021
2025 :
Gulfport
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Southaven
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Biloxi
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Hattiesburg
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Meridian
Mayoral elections
2025 :
Olive Branch
Mayoral elections
2025 :
Tupelo
Mayoral elections
2025 :
Madison
Mayoral elections
2025 :
Philadelphia
Mayoral elections
2025 :
vte :
The 2016 Mississippi Republican presidential primary took place in Mississippi on March 8, 2016, ahead of the presidential election that November. The Democrats held their Mississippi primary on the same day.
Mississippi's 40 Republican delegates were contested. Donald Trump won the primary, receiving 47.24% of the vote, while Ted Cruz came in second, with 36.12% of the vote. Trump received 25 of the state's delegates, while Cruz received the remaining 15.

## The state of the campaign

Trump had already become the Republican front-runner before the Mississippi primary. He was favored to win Mississippi partly because he had already done well in Southern states' primaries, including Alabama's, which he won with 43.4% of the vote on Super Tuesday.

## Opinion polling

A poll of 995 likely Republican Mississippi voters, conducted on February 29, 2016, by Magellan Strategies, gave Trump 41% of the vote, 24% more than second-place Cruz.

## Results

Mississippi Republican primary, March 8, 2016 :
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Actual delegate count | Actual delegate count | Actual delegate count |
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Bound | Unbound | Total |
| Donald Trump | 196,659 | 47.24% | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Ted Cruz | 150,364 | 36.12% | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| John Kasich | 36,795 | 8.84% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marco Rubio | 21,885 | 5.26% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Carson (withdrawn) | 5,626 | 1.35% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeb Bush (withdrawn) | 1,697 | 0.41% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Huckabee (withdrawn) | 1,067 | 0.26% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rand Paul (withdrawn) | 643 | 0.15% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Santorum (withdrawn) | 510 | 0.12% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Christie (withdrawn) | 493 | 0.12% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carly Fiorina (withdrawn) | 224 | 0.05% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lindsey Graham (withdrawn) | 172 | 0.04% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Pataki (withdrawn) | 135 | 0.03% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unprojected delegates: | Unprojected delegates: | Unprojected delegates: | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 416,270 | 100.00% | 40 | 0 | 40 |
| Source: The Green Papers ||||||

## Analysis

Trump's double-digit victory in Mississippi was seen as solidifying his status as the Republican front-runner, shortly after his disappointing performance in the Louisiana primary. Another unusual aspect of the Mississippi primary results was Marco Rubio's exceptionally poor showing: Rubio came in fourth despite having finished second in several other primaries in the South. Overall, Trump's victory was part of his generally strong performance in the South, where, as a whole, he performed better than either John McCain in 2008 or Mitt Romney in 2012.
Exit polls showed that Trump beat Cruz in virtually every demographic group. They also showed that Trump got an especially large share of the vote among Mississippi voters looking for a candidate who "tells it like it is". Trump also won among white evangelicals, the voters who Cruz had hoped would form his coalition. However, Trump came in second (behind Cruz) among Republican voters who decided whom to vote for in the primary within the previous week.