Wednesday, April 20, 2016 6:51 am
Trump’s crushing defeat of Ted Cruz in Tuesday’s primary election tilted the energy in the Republican race back to the front-runner, just as Republican National Committee members begin meeting in Florida on Wednesday to discuss their July convention, where the nominee will be chosen.
For the Democratic favorite, Clinton’s more narrow victory over Bernie Sanders snapped a string of victories by the 74-year-old democratic socialist and gave her a much-needed lift with more tough fights ahead.
Although Clinton did not get any where near the knockout punch she needed to finally put Sanders away, the broad smile on her face as she gave her victory speech spoke volumes about how important New York was to her bid to become the first female U.S. president. With 98 per cent of the votes reported, she got 57.9 per cent and 135 delegates, while Sanders, who was raised in Brooklyn got 42.1 per cent and 104 delegates. Hillary now has 1,424 pledged delegates to Sanders, 1,149. The super delegates bring Hillary’s lead to 1,893 to Sanders’1180.
"New York is a place for dreaming big. But New Yorkers also like to get things done." —Hillary pic.twitter.com/K5uWCl3PKI
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 20, 2016
“Today you proved once again there’s no place like home,” Clinton said. “This one was personal.”
The race for the Democratic nomination, she said, is now in “the home stretch, and victory is in sight.”
Clinton, 68, was to campaign in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Sanders flew home to Vermont to take a day off the campaign trail.
Clinton’s win made it nearly impossible for Sanders to overtake her commanding lead in the number of delegates needed to win the nomination.
The eventual victors of the Democratic and the Republican nominating campaigns will face each other in November’s general election.
Thank you New York, I will never forget!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2016
With a campaign staff reboot and a more focused performance, Trump has sought to improve in recent weeks as a candidate. The tone of his victory speech was in keeping with a more measured style the often-brash billionaire has adopted.
“We don’t have much of a race anymore based on what I’m seeing on television,” Trump said as television networks projected a large margin of victory for him. “Senator Cruz is just about mathematically eliminated.”
Trump, 69, predicted some “amazing weeks” ahead for his campaign.
Still, he has a long way to go to seal the nomination and begin trying to heal the wounds in his bitterly divided party. Some fence-mending may happen when he sends campaign advisers to the RNC meeting starting in Hollywood, Florida, on Wednesday.
Trump’s haul of most of New York’s 95 delegates moved him closer to the 1,237 needed to win the nomination outright. He now has in the bag 845 delegates to Cruz’s 559. Governor Kasich trails with 147 delegates.
Trump will need to get the 1,237 delegates he needs in the coming weeks to be sure of nomination. Anything short of that will lead to a contested convention when Republicans hold their national conclave July 18-21 in Cleveland.
“There’s only two issues left for Republicans: Will Trump get 50 percent of the delegates prior to Cleveland, and if not, how close will he be? New York gives him a nice boost, but it will take weeks before we know the answer,” said Ari Fleischer, who was White House press secretary under President George W. Bush.
Cruz, a 45-year-old U.S. senator from Texas, came in third in New York and gave his primary night speech in Philadelphia, where he was already focused on running in Pennsylvania. He called on Republicans to unite around his candidacy.
Ohio Governor John Kasich, 63, a long-shot candidate, is seeking to use his second-place showing in New York as proof he is emerging as Trump’s central challenger in the states that come up next on the calendar.
Join The Conversation