Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on March 7, 2016, in Madison, Miss. | AP Photo Trump wins Michigan

Donald Trump has won the Michigan Republican primary, according to three television networks.

Trump’s victory is a blow to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is campaigning aggressively in the Rust Belt region and is banking on winning his home state next week.


The billionaire’s victory in Michigan reinforces his strength among the white, working-class voters he would need to compete in a general election. Trump has ratcheted up his criticism of trade deals in recent days, touted his endorsement by the CEO of NASCAR and promised to bring back lost manufacturing jobs.

Heading into Tuesday’s primary, Trump led the RealClearPolitics average of Michigan polls by 12 percentage points over Kasich, who had surged in recent days — only to come up short.

Exit polls showed that more voters in Michigan said they were dissatisfied (55 percent) than angry (32 percent) with the federal government. About half the electorate said they were white evangelical or born-again Christian.

Michigan awards its 59 delegates on a proportional basis, although candidates must pass a 15 percent threshold to attain at-large delegates.

Trump leads the GOP field in the overall delegate count, with 387 delegates to 303 for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, 151 for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and 37 for Kasich.

View live results: http://politi.co/1oGcEFv

2016 delegate tracker: http://politi.co/2176fPm