KINGSLAND, Ga. – Georgia voters turned out in big numbers Tuesday to support Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
With the winners called by CNN and AP just after 7 p.m., the state gave the Republican and Democratic front-runners their first of several Super Tuesday victories. Trump posted a message on Twitter reading "Thank you Georgia" moments after polls closed.
Preliminary results of exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the Associated Press and television networks showed that Georgia's Democrats turned out overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton.
The exit polls showed that women, blacks and older voters helped the former secretary of state pull out a clear victory over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Republican voters who want an outsider as the next president made a strong showing for Donald Trump in Georgia, much like they did last month in neighboring South Carolina.
INTERACTIVE: Georgia primary election results
Clinton and Trump swept most of the state, including all the coastal counties of Southeast Georgia.
Bernie Sanders carried one Georgia county: Echols, which sits on the Florida border, about 50 miles north of the intersection of I-10 and I-75. Marco Rubio appears to have won metropolitan Atlanta and the college town of Athens. He is leading in Clarke, Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton and DeKalb counties.
One third of registered voters turned out Tuesday in Camden County to cast ballots in Georgia's presidential primary. Four years ago, only 19 percent turned out.
One precinct in East Kingsland was one of the busiest all day long with voters who told News4Jax this is an important election, including one outspoken woman who did not want to give her name.
"To stop the current BS that's going on," she said. "It's been very frustrating. After seven years, nothing has gotten better."
Some said it's frustration that brought them to the polls. Others said that they are here because they feel it is their duty to take part in the process of electing our next president.
"There's a lot of issues on the table, and all of them are important," Clarence Knight said.
While voters may disagree on the importance of debates, they agree the public needs to be informed before voting.
Unlike Florida, Georgia has an open primary system. A voter can choose which party's primary to vote in regardless of the voter's party registration.
"If you don't straighten up and act right and listen to the people, you're going to get Donald Trump," said Bill Kane, who said he wanted to send the Republican Party a message with his vote.
"If you don't have someone who is electable, you're going to lose," Kane said. "That's what this is about. I believe Trump can be electable. Very easily."
Early and absentee voting show more than 417,000 ballots were cast heading into Tuesday, with Republicans making up a sizable majority. Officials said this easily shattered the previous record set in 2008.
Georgia's deep-red status and high delegate count drew last-minute visits from multiple Republican candidates ahead of the Super Tuesday election. Democrats, meanwhile, know the state's large minority population makes black voters essential to winning a party primary in Georgia.
Recent polling in the state shows Donald Trump leading Republicans and Hillary Clinton ahead in the Democratic race.