Unimaginable at the start of the campaign, Bernie Sanders might be a stronger general-election candidate for the Democrats than Hillary Clinton.
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Sanders was campaigning in Queens when news outlets projected he was the victor in Wyoming, prompting wild cheers from supporters.
Sanders quickly relayed the word to the crowd of several hundred people, and after a standing ovation, he joked that there are probably more people at his event than live in Wyoming.
Wyoming awards 14 delegates on a proportional basis, giving each candidate seven. Sanders won with 56 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 44 percent.
“We are on a path to the nomination, but I need to win big here in NY, because the sooner I can become the nominee, I can turn and unify the Democratic Party like I did with President Obama in 2008”, Clinton said. “Sanders, will go into the convention with a majority needed of pledged delegates in order to win”, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day” Tuesday.
When including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate, Mrs Clinton has amassed even more delegates, 1,755 compared to 1,068 for Mr Sanders. Of the superdelegates who are free to change their mind, Clinton is reported to have 469 while Sanders has only 31.
Trump’s organizers in Colorado distributed a slate that included incorrect information for four of his desired delegates. Despite his in-person appeal, Clinton carried Laramie County and the state’s other most populous county, Natrona, seat of the state’s capital, Cheyenne.
The contenders will next face off in the NY primary April 19, in which 291 delegates are at stake.
In Buffalo, New York, Hillary Clinton would not directly comment on whether she agrees with her husband on whether gender played a role in Sanders’ comments.
But she does back Senate legislation that would give cities and states the ability to set a higher threshold. “Right now Hillary Clinton is the focus of all evil in the world for Republicans and Democrats”, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. They will again say it demonstrates the shallowness of Ms Clinton’s appeal and her shortcomings as a national candidate. Meanwhile, Donald Trump visited the September 11th Museum in Lower Manhattan where he donated $100,000 in an unannounced trip.
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That said, the path gets much tougher after this for Sanders, with a calendar dominated by primaries in states with larger, more diverse Democratic electorates.
