Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won his state Republican presidential primary on Tuesday while Hillary Clinton, the state's former first lady, picked up a win among Democrats.

"Thanks to the wonderful people of Arkansas, where it all started and where tonight, we have a wonderful, wonderful victory here at home," Huckabee told supporters Tuesday night.

Huckabee thanked supporters in his home state while Clinton's campaign sent out a victory e-mail immediately following the projections.

"We're very excited that Hillary Clinton has added a third red state in her victory column," according to an e-mail statement that suggested the results show the state's former first lady can defeat Democratic rivals in Republican strongholds.

"The Obama campaign has been spinning that they have a monopoly on red states; tonight we showed they don't," the statement said.

Huckabee, who trimmed his campaign budget recently, vowed to stay in the race despite the outcome of Tuesday night's primaries. He did surprisingly well in several state races.

"We love this state, always have and always will," Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas for more than 10 years. "And tonight we're reminded again why, because of the incredible people who believed in us early and stayed with us through all of the times when so many people said 'you can't get there.' "

Earlier on Tuesday, Huckabee cast his vote in North Little Rock with his wife Janet.

"I think to vote for yourself for president of the United States is pretty overwhelming," Huckabee said.

Meanwhile, a tornado swept across the state, killing a couple and a child. Several twisters touched down in the state, disrupting voting in the state's presidential primary.

Despite the weather, election officials reported no problems with touch-screen voting machines and only received phone calls on routine matters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.