The polls were closer in CT, but Clinton was declared the victor there, too, at about 10:45 pm EDT, with 50.3% of the vote.
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Media projections showed that he easily won Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware-collectively nicknamed the “Acela primary”, after the express train line that runs from New England to Washington, DC. Sanders has a victory to call his own as well, with NBC News projecting a victory for the Vermont senator in Rhode Island.
On April 7, he announced he was reorganizing his campaign to focus on delegate and convention strategy, hiring advisers with convention experience, while railing against the Republican system.
According to exit polls, less than a fifth of Democratic voters said they would not support Mrs Clinton if she gets the nomination.
And Donald Trump’s move toward moderation on social issues last week reflects not only his campaign’s understanding that he can not win as a far-right candidate, but also his need to tread carefully to maintain the crazy-quilt coalition he has built in the GOP primaries. 44% of Trump voters said that they would not vote for Ted Cruz is he is the nominee, and 40% of Trump voters said that they would not support John Kasich if the OH governor became the Democratic nominee.
But the importance of Tuesday’s wins went beyond those numbers. In Pennsylvania, the winners were Trump and Clinton; they secured 57 and 56 percent respectively.
Among the Democrats, Hillary Clinton was declared the early victor in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.
“Whether you support Sen”. As she narrowed Sanders’ dwindling opportunities to catch up, Clinton continued to build on her overwhelming support among superdelegates – the party officials who are free to back any candidate they choose. The crowd cheered at the pun, and a bumper sticker with the slogan was already on sale for $5 at Clinton’s website.
To help their chances, the Cruz and Trump campaigns have sought out loyal supporters among the ranks of the delegate candidates and distributed those names to voters.
Cruz’s Pennsylvania chairman, Lowman Henry, said he had not noticed a ramp-up by Trump there.
But Trump will have his sights set on an even bigger prize on Tuesday.
In a victory speech at Trump Tower, Trump likened the victories to a boxing ring knockout and suggested it was time for his Republican rivals to drop out. Got creamed. So you explain how that’s done. “I consider myself the presumptive nominee”. They have no path to victory at all. “It’s whether the Democratic establishment is going to bring our party together by embracing our fight”, Chamberlain said. “And I’m a unifier”.
To help derail Trump, Kasich agreed this week to not campaign in IN, allowing Cruz to focus on the front-runner.
Trump’s running total under this scenario: 869 delegates.
It’s all but certain that Trump will romp on Tuesday night.
Along with focusing more of her fire on GOP front-runner Donald Trump, Clinton has also begun broadening her message beyond the primary. “Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she would get five percent of the vote”.
Speaking in Huntington, West Virginia shortly after the polls closed Sanders said, “We are doing something very unusual in contemporary American politics”.
“Tonight, Donald Trump is expected to have a good night”, he said, speaking to supporters in Knightstown, Ind., in the gym where the movie “Hoosiers” was filmed.
In all, more than 160 hopefuls will appear on the ballot Tuesday, with the Cruz campaign pushing for two write-in candidates. Marco Rubio (Florida). Rubio dropped out of the presidential race more than a month ago.
Can Cruz and Kasich win delegates?
Sanders, however, showed no signs of giving up.
Preliminary results include interviews with 758 to 930 Democratic primary voters and 530 to 896 Republican primary voters in each state.
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“This campaign is not just about electing a president”.
