Donald Trump cruises in Manatee County

MANATEE -- Donald Trump won big among Republican voters in Manatee County on Tuesday and in the entire state, prompting Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to suspend his campaign.

With all precincts reporting, Trump had 24,969 votes, or 47.7 percent of the vote. Rubio trailed far behind with 12,584 votes, or 24 percent.

Ted Cruz had 8,688, or 16.6 percent, and John Kasich had 4,177, or 8 percent, according to the Manatee County Elections Office.

Trump won about 45.7 percent of the Republican vote in Florida with 97 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Florida Division of Elections. All of Florida's 99 Republican delegates will go to Trump.

A watch party for Trump supporters at Bo

gey's Restaurant & Sports Pub in East Manatee attracted a crowd of about 40 people at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Announcements of Manatee and Florida results and Rubio's drop from the race brought cheers from a jovial group.

"This should bring it down to a two-man race: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz," said Donna Hayes, chairwoman for the Trump campaign in Manatee County. "But on a one on one, Trump is going to win."

Craig Bachler, state director for the Trump campaign's coalitions, told supporters it was time to focus on the general election and Hillary Clinton.

"Trust me, the war is just beginning," Bachler told the group, which cheered again.

Republican voters surveyed by the Bradenton Herald as they left polling locations throughout Manatee County seemed to mostly support Trump or Rubio, with 14 voting for Trump and seven voting for Rubio out of 26 surveyed. Many were passionate about their choices with a lot of discussion about being for or against Trump.

Sussanne Sykes voted for Rubio at the American Legion Post 24 on 75th Street West, but said she actually supports Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"I don't want Trump to win," Sykes said. "I actually leaned for Trump in the beginning, but then I saw his antics and his immaturity. I don't think he's fit to be a leader."

Sykes said she didn't mind Rubio as much as Trump, but she didn't think he was ready to be president.

Many Trump supporters cited exhaustion with the status quo, Trump's toughness and his business experience as reasons to support him.

Terry Calderon, 43, said he is a small business owner and voted for Trump because the country needs to drastically change after Barack Obama's presidency.

"I have a few employees and things are tight right now," Calderon said. "I think as a businessman Trump knows what we need."

John Tsakiri, 57, said he voted for Trump because he is sick of typical politicians.

"They get into their building up there (in Washington D.C.) and couldn't care less about you or I," Tsakiri said.

Some Trump supporters said his lack of political experience is a legitimate concern, but he could staff his cabinet and have a vice president with more experience to balance him out. Tracy Brown said Trump will "stock his administration with intelligent people," while Todd Brown hopes Trump can reverse what he said has been Obama's "destruction of America."

Robin McAllister voted early at Renaissance on Ninth and cast his vote for Rubio.

"I like his ideas and the fact that he's the up-and-coming generation," said McAllister. "He has the only chance in Florida besides the obvious person."

When asked why he felt this election cycle was such a passionate one for voters, McAllister said: "The last seven years of Obama."

Kelsey Grimaldi said she voted for Rubio at Bayside Community Church in East Manatee "because he's got the best chance against Donald Trump."

Grimaldi harkened Trump's popularity to that of a game show host, saying: "He's shouting, 'Name the top five things wrong with America,' and everyone is just yelling, 'Yeah.' I'm not so sure he can execute them, and without execution, someone needs to be a president for real change."

Grimaldi said she would likely vote Democratic if Trump is the Republican nominee.

Trump supporter John Robertson classified himself as a "disappointed Republican." He lingered between Cruz and Trump, but didn't like the way Cruz handled Ben Carson during the campaign.

"I think Ben Carson is a man of integrity, so when he endorsed Trump, that sealed my vote. We've put Republicans in Congress and they've done absolutely nothing but collect a paycheck. I think Donald Trump is a better candidate than Cruz because he can actually change things."

Cruz found support in Palmetto from Donna and Bill Wyland, who said his Christian values stand out just a bit more than Trump's. Donna Wyland supported Trump early, "but it was the little things that started to get to me."

Ohio Gov. John Kasich found a bit of support in West Bradenton from Ellen and Rein Mueller. Their vote for Kasich was because: "He's the only adult in the field. He's more even-keeled," said Ellen Mueller.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 11:52 PM with the headline "Donald Trump cruises in Manatee County."