Donald Trump Wins West Virginia GOP Primary

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Charleston, W.Va., Thursday, May 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
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Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump scored an easy win in West Virginia’s primary on Tuesday night, according to projections from CNN and Fox.

Trump made several stops in the Mountain State, where he has campaigned on bringing coal-mining jobs back to boost the faltering economy. The West Virginia Coal Association endorsed Trump last week after he vowed to get miners in the state “back to work” and make them “proud again to be miners” in a victory speech following his sweep of the Indiana primary.

West Virginia lost some 7,000 coal mining jobs between late 2011 and June 2015 alone, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

After Trump’s remaining opponents, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), dropped out of the race following the Indiana primary, the billionaire mogul seemed so confident in his position as the presumptive nominee that he actually urged West Virginia voters to skip out on Tuesday’s vote.

“Save your vote for the general election, okay?” Trump told a crowd of 13,000 in Charleston, according to The Washington Post. “Forget this one. The primary is gone.”

West Virginia voters appeared not to have heeded Trump’s request.

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