Donald and Melania Trump cast primary ballots in Palm Beach

Former President Donald Trump drew a crowd at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center Tuesday afternoon as he and his wife, Melania, voted in the Florida presidential primary.

The pair arrived just after 4 p.m. and cast their ballots inside the 17,000-square-foot facility on Seaview Avenue.

The Mandel Recreation Center serves as one of three polling locations in Palm Beach. It hosts two of the town's seven precincts.

Related: 'Very joyful': In close race, Bridget Moran wins Town Council seat in Palm Beach

Trump is campaigning for the presidency for the fourth time, and he locked up the GOP nomination last week following primary elections in in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington state. He also ran in 2000, 2016 and 2020. He won two Reform Party primaries in 2000 but eventually dropped out.

He won Tuesday's Florida presidential Republican primary with 81% of the vote. Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the race March 6, finished second with 13%. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who suspended his campaign in January, was third with 3.7%.

Trump addressed reporters after casting his ballot, touching on a variety of topics including controversial comments he made recently about Jewish voters.

Earlier this week, during an interview conducted by one of his former White House aides Sebastian Gorka, Trump said any Jewish voter who backs Democratic Party candidates "hates Israel" and "hates their religion."

Trump doubled down on those comments Tuesday, telling reporters, "I think that the Democrats have been very, very opposed to the Jewish people, that's true, and to Israel," according to the Palm Beach Post.

Melania Trump also spoke briefly, telling reporters to "stay tuned" when asked about a return to presidential campaign politics.

The Republican presidential primary was one of two races on the ballot Tuesday in Palm Beach. Voters also were asked to choose a candidate for the Group 3 Town Council race.

In a close contest, Bridget Moran defeated John David Corey to claim the seat that will be vacated by longtime council member Maggie Zeidman next month.

Moran, a member of the town's Landmarks Preservation Commission, is a longtime Palm Beach resident with more than two decades of volunteer experience.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Donald, Melania Trump cast primary ballots Tuesday in Palm Beach