Hillary Clinton is projected to win the Mississippi primary, building on the momentum she earned winning contests in other Southern states.
Her defeat of Bernie Sanders was called at 8 p.m. EST by the networks.
Clinton came to the state banking on the support of African American voters. Black voters turned out for Clinton in neighboring states that she won, including Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. Polling showed her well ahead of Sanders ahead of Mississippi’s primary Tuesday.
According to AP exit polling, nearly nine in 10 black voters broke for Clinton, who also made gains with traditional Sanders’s supporters, such as liberals.
Clinton also spotlighted a water issue in Jackson, Mississippi, a move that paralleled her attention to the lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan, which also hosted a primary Tuesday.
Her campaign touted the endorsement of 50 Mississippi mayors, and some of them stumped on her behalf. Her husband, President Bill Clinton, also appeared in the state supporting her campaign.
Sanders meanwhile has struggled to break through in the South, even as he has scored wins in Colorado, Oklahoma, Minnesota and in some states in the Northeast.
