Oklahomans Cast Votes In Record Numbers In Primaries

Oklahoman had record voter turnout in Tuesday's primary.  The state election board reports just over 795,000 people came out to vote.

More than 335,000 Democrats voted. That's three times as many in 2012, but less than 2008.

And nearly 460,000 Republicans cast a ballot. That's a new record for a party in a presidential primary.

Oklahoma voters bucked the national trend for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in presidential primaries, handing victories instead to their challengers on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

2/27/2016 Related Story: Early Voting Period Brings Record Turnout In Oklahoma, Officials Say

Republicans in Oklahoma chose conservative Senator Ted Cruz from neighboring Texas, and Democrats went with self-described democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

While Clinton and Trump swept most other Super Tuesday primaries and appeared headed for a general election showdown in November, both stumbled in Oklahoma.

Cruz leveraged support from evangelical Christians for his GOP victory while Sanders tapped into the state's deep populist roots with his message of wealth inequality.