Jefferson City, MO  (KTRS)   Missouri’s presidential primaries appear to have set a new record for voter turnout.
Nearly 1.6 million of Missouri’s 4 million registered voters cast ballots in the Presidential Primary on Tuesday. That equates to a statewide voter turnout of about 39 percent.

This is higher that what was projected by the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. Last week Jason Kander’s office projected a 34.5-percent voter turnout.

The previous high for a presidential primary was 36 percent set in the 2008, when more than 1.4 million votes were cast. The 2008 primary also was the last time there were competitive races in both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump led Texas Senator Ted Cruz by fewer than 2,000 votes Wednesday with nearly all precincts reporting results.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton led Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by a similar margin with nearly all precincts reporting.