BREAKING: Polls Close In Crucial Batch Of GOP States, Decision Desk Makes Immediate Calls

Polls in a number of Super Tuesday states are now closed as of 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Votes are now being tabulated Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Tennessee, while polls in Arkansas and Texas will soon be closed as well.

Within minutes of polls closing in the 8 p.m. states, a number of primary contests in red states were called for former President Donald Trump, including Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama. Maine was also called for Trump roughly 10 minutes after polls closed.

The results were not unexpected, as the former president had polled as a sizable favorite in the deep red states for weeks. He also cruised to victory in North Carolina, where he was declared the winner just minutes after polls closed at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The North Carolina victory followed another blowout for the former president in Virginia, a purple state that was viewed as competitive ground for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Despite expected success in North Virginia, the race was called for Trump in less than 20 minutes.

Massachusetts has also been viewed as a winnable race for Haley due to the state’s open primary format.  In addition to Massachusetts, Vermont was viewed as a potential pick-up for Haley for many of the same reasons.

With less than half of votes counted, Trump and Haley are currently locked in a neck-and-neck race in the tiny state. The New York Times was briefly predicting a narrow Haley victory in the state, though projections have since tilted back to the former president.

Outside of Vermont, Super Tuesday has largely provided massive victories for the former president and more electoral agony for Haley. To date, Haley’s only victory has come in the District of Columbia.

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