JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi voters are making their choice for president Tuesday, with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton seeking the state's six electoral votes.
The state last chose a Democrat for president in 1976, having voted for Republicans in every election since.
Magnolia State voters will also make choices Tuesday in U.S. House races and nonpartisan state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals races.
Unlike in other states, there was little public dissent by Republicans to Trump's nomination. At the Neshoba County Fair in July, GOP politicians emphasized the importance of having a Republican president. Holding the line may have been especially important to U.S. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who was leading Republican efforts to maintain control of the Senate this year.
Gov. Phil Bryant campaigned as a Trump surrogate in Mississippi and other states, and Trump held a rally in Jackson Aug. 24 in conjunction with a fundraiser, a rare general election appearance by a major-party candidate in Mississippi. Trump also held rallies in Madison and Biloxi during the primary campaign. Donald Trump Jr., the nominee's son, also made a Neshoba County Fair appearance that drew thousands, although not as part of the lineup of regular political speakers.
Bryant also visited Trump at his New York headquarters in Trump Tower and attended the third presidential debate in Las Vegas, but said he wasn't interested in an appointment in a Trump administration.
Clinton has not visited the state during the campaign, but won more than 80 percent of the votes in Mississippi's Democratic primary, thanks to overwhelming support among African-American voters.
In 2012, nearly 1.3 million Mississippians voted for president.
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