Results from Tuesday’s primaries in five northeastern states cleared much of the political fog for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the two candidates bagged large shares of Democratic and Republican delegates to steer far ahead of their respective rivals.
While Trump made it a clean sweep in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Clinton moved past Senator Bernie Sanders with victories in four states.
Clinton’s triumphant showing in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania almost edged Sanders out of the primary race, as he trails the frontrunner by a margin of 360 pledged delegates.
After Tuesday’s domination of the primaries, Trump (950 delegates) is more than 390 delegates ahead of his closest competitor Ted Cruz (560 delegates) in the race to 1237 magic number needed for nomination.
The billionaire real estate tycoon, who has built his campaign on support from disaffected voters with a promise to “make America great again,” needs less than 300 additional delegates to stake a claim for Republican nomination in July’s convention.
Senator Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich (153 delegates) made an apparently abortive attempt to team up in denying Trump more delegates in Tuesday’s multiple competitions.
If Trump continues his momentum in Indiana contest on May 3, a winning outcome by a large margin will l further dim any prospects Cruz has been brooking to challenge Trump at the July GOP convention for nomination.
On the Democratic side, Clinton has now a combined total of 2141 delegates 1622 pledged and 519 superdelegates, compared with Vermont Senator Bernie’s 1321 including 1282 pledged delegates and 39 superdelegates.
Sounding presidential and much more confident than during the pre-New York primary contests, when Sanders scored successive five wins, a cheerful Clinton, echoed her call for unity within the Democratic Party.
“There is much more that unites us than divides us,” she told Democratic supporters whether backing Sanders or her.
The former first lady and secretary of state also appeared to underscore her credentials – which also includes her experience as U.S. senator – when she proclaimed “we have to be both dreamers and doers.”
At the same time, she mixed her message with a promise to restore fair opportunity and dignity for all while saying that Wall Street should not be allowed to threaten the Main street.
Bernie Sanders, who won in Rhode Island, has been driving home the message that large corporations wield much influence over economic fortunes of common citizens. His backers now are hoping to stack up a bigger number of delegates from the next major competition in Indiana on May 3, which has a field of 83 delegates.
Clinton’s nomination will likely set up a fight against businessman Trump, who, though not as assured of nomination as she is at this stage, has been forging ahead with an unusual aggressive style and rhetoric during the campaign. Trump’s exploitation of anger and fear among Republican-leaning Americans has won him support but also upset several leaders in the GOP establishment, who still have not reconciled to the idea of Trump being the Party’s contender.
Sanders, meanwhile, has indicated that he would stay in the fray and made a strong case Tuesday evening to Democratic leaders that he is the candidate that can beat Trump or any other conservative candidate in the November 8 presidential election.
But Hillary Clinton, with the unflinching support of so many Democratic leaders and superdelegates as well as a mathematical advantage in terms of pledged delegates, seems poised to clinch the nomination even before the July convention.
NOTE : Analysis to follow
