LEWISTON, ME - Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the winner of the 2016 Maine Republican caucus Saturday, according to the Bangor Daily News. Donald Trump holds second place. Final results from Maine gave Cruz 12 delegates, Trump finished with 9, Ohio Gov. John Kasich received 2 delegates while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio received no delegates in Saturday's contest.

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Cruz's win in Maine was considered a surprise. Pundits had named Trump the favorite in the contest based on his wins in neighboring states, the momentum he had picked up on Super Tuesday and the endorsement of Maine Gov. Paul LePage. Cruz's victory was attributed to the support he picked up from evangelicals tired of Trump's inflated style.





While there is a lack of polling for Saturday's elections, it was likely the results would be unpredictable as both Trump and Clinton have been weaker in caucus states that in primary states, as reported by the New York Times.

Results from Saturday's caucus were be announced by the party in Lewiston. Unofficial results from Maine showed Cruz winning early in Portland as well as in Kennebec, Waldo and Hancock counties, the Bangor Daily News reports. Early results from the AP and Politico also show Cruz taking the lead in Maine.

"Let me say God bless Kansas, and God bless Maine," Cruz said during a speech at his election watch party in Idaho, Politico reported. Cruz was also declared the winner of the Kansas Republican caucus. Whereas Trump took the lead in Louisiana and Kentucky.





Return to Patch for live results as soon as they are pulled.

Caucus and Primary Results: Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska

The Maine Republican party hosted 22 presidential caucuses across the state. Caucus times vary in Maine starting mid-morning and ending early evening. Expecting a high turnout, the Republican party has printed 80,000 ballots in the state, WMTW reported.

Trump and Cruz are the only two candidates to have made an appearance in the Pine Tree State. Trump made a stop in the state on Thursday along with his son Eric Trump. Nate Silver named Trump the favorite by default.

"My father wanted to be with the people who are ultimately going to vote for him and I think he made the right decision," Eric Trump told WMTW. "Look at how few candidates went to Maine, it's actually very sad."

Cruz made a stop in Orono on Friday.

Maine's role is the nominating contest is not expected to be a decider in the elections, the Bangor Daily News reports. As of Saturday, Trump led the field with 375 pledged delegates. Cruz has 291, Rubio has 123 and Kasich has 33.

On Sunday, March 6 Maine Democrats will caucus to allocate delegates to the state convention.

Images via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons