Kasich came second in four of the five States but could earn just five delegates.
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Trump was riding high following the latest contests, declaring that his rivals had “zero” chance of winning the 1,237 delegates necessary to earn the nomination ahead of the convention. Both could lose all the voting events that remain through June and still reach the conventions with pluralities among the delegates. He called himself the “presumptive nominee”. “As far as I’m concerned it’s over”.
One question facing Clinton allies is when they can become more direct in calling for Sanders to focus on party unity and concede the improbability of his path to the nomination.
Speaking to reporters last week, Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri asserted that the Vermont senator’s campaign needed to prove how it could clinch the nomination.
Trump easily defeated rivals John Kasich and Ted Cruz in all five states that held contests – Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and DE – with a margin of victory rivalling that of his home state of NY a week ago.
“The best way to beat the system is to have a night like this…” He also urged Sanders’ voters to support him.
Kasich is not campaigning In Indiana, while Cruz is not campaigning in the States of New Mexico and OR as part of this strategic alliance.
Philadelphia-based political analyst Larry Ceisler described IN as the last “firewall”. “But the way she shouted that message was not – that’s the way she said it, and I guess I’ll have to get used to a lot of that over the next four or five months”. The wins in the three states also take Clinton closer to earning the Democratic presidential nomination for the November election.
Photo/Matt RourkeHillary Clinton extended an olive branch to Bernie Sanders supporters.
Democrats award delegates proportionally, which allowed Clinton to maintain her lead over Sanders even as he rattled off a string of wins in recent contests.
“We’re 80 percent of the way through the caucuses and primaries and we make adjustments as we go along”, Michael Briggs, Sanders’ campaign communications director, said, Politico reported. “Sanders or me, there’s much more that unites us than divides us”.
Clinton offered her most direct outreach to date to Sanders’s backers, saying she shares his priorities like fighting inequality. “Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed just a few blocks away”. “Hillary wants him to drop out tomorrow but she has to be very careful about pressuring him”. Beyond Pennsylvania there are going to be over 100 completely unbound delegates, some of whom will vote for Trump in the first ballot.
The delegate results for Democrats are not official until the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to begin July 25.
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A key test of the “stop Trump” strategy will come in the in primary on May 3.
