Senator Bernie Sanders threw a last-minute hurdle in front of Hillary Clinton’s march toward the Democratic party nomination on Tuesday by clinching a surprise victory in the Indiana primary.
Despite trailing by an average of seven points in opinion polls and losing a string of bigger, more diverse states on the east coast, Sanders once again proved his appeal to disaffected midwest voters by pulling off his 18th victory of 2016, according to Associated Press projections.
But his victory was narrow. With 93% reporting, Sanders had 52.7% of the vote to Clinton’s 47.3%. Both candidates shared the delegates proportionately, with Sanders getting 43 and Clinton 37.
Clinton now has 1,682 pledged delegates and Sanders 1.361. With Super delegates added, Clinton has 2,202 and Sanders 1,400.
Sanders said: “The Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They’re wrong. Maybe it’s over for the insiders and the party establishment, but the voters in Indiana had a different idea.”
His success in Indiana was overshadowed by Ted Cruz’s decision to drop out of the Republican race, leaving the path to victory clear for Donald Trump.