Hillary Clinton wins decisive victory over Bernie Sanders in New York primary

Hillary Clinton clinched a decisive victory over Bernie Sanders in New York on Tuesday, crushing hopes among his supporters that a recent winning streak could change the direction of the Democratic presidential race.

In the Republican race, Donald Trump swept to victory in his home state, reviving his hopes of winning the Republican party nomination outright.

Clinton’s projected win by the Associated Press came 45 minutes after polls closed and suggested a commanding performance that could see her take a clear majority of the 247 delegates on offer and extend her national lead.

Appearing at a victory rally in Midtown Manhattan, the former secretary of state said: “Tonight, the race for the Democratic nomination is in the home stretch and victory is in sight.”However, she stopped short of calling on her leftwing opponent to drop out, adding: “I am going forward because more voices remain to be heard,” and telling his supporters: “I believe there is much more that unites us than divides us.”

With over 98.4% of the votes tallied, Clinton led 57.9% to 42.1% and was ahead in New York City. With more than 1.7m Democratic votes counted, Clinton held a lead in excess of 280,000. By midnight local time she had won 135 delegates to 104 for Sanders.

With almost 100% of the votes in from the five boroughs of New York City, Clinton was winning everywhere, 20 points ahead in Kings County, which covers Brooklyn, and 39 points ahead in the Bronx, which has the highest proportion of black voters in the city.

In Manhattan, Clinton led by 32 points, by 21 points in multicultural Queens and by a narrower seven points in Staten Island. Sanders lost the block in Brooklyn where he grew up by 36 votes to 19, but in a sign in his dominance in rural areas upstate he beat the former secretary of state in Clinton County. A series of exit polls had suggested a closer race, with CNN putting Clinton’s lead at a much tighter margin of 52%-48%. However, while exit polls indicated Sanders won comfortably with under-40s and white men, Clinton was ahead with older voters, women, and black and Latino supporters.

Hillary Clinton clinched a decisive victory over Bernie Sanders in New York on Tuesday, crushing hopes among his supporters that a recent winning streak could change the direction of the Democratic presidential race.
In the Republican race, Donald Trump swept to victory in his home state, reviving his hopes of winning the Republican party nomination outright.

Clinton’s projected win by the Associated Press came 45 minutes after polls closed and suggested a commanding performance that could see her take a clear majority of the 247 delegates on offer and extend her national lead.

Appearing at a victory rally in Midtown Manhattan, the former secretary of state said: “Tonight, the race for the Democratic nomination is in the home stretch and victory is in sight.”However, she stopped short of calling on her leftwing opponent to drop out, adding: “I am going forward because more voices remain to be heard,” and telling his supporters: “I believe there is much more that unites us than divides us.”

A packed ballroom at the Sheraton New York Times Square hotel erupted into cheers as the race was called for Clinton. The crowd, in a jubilant mood throughout the evening and entertained by a live band, immediately broke into chants of “Hillary! Hillary!” as Celebration by Kool and the Gang boomed out. Their mood soured just once, when the live newsfeed on a giant screen mounted behind the stage cut into Donald Trump’s victory speech. In the Republican race,Trump secured a big home-turf victory, confirmed within seconds of the polls closing.

With over 98.4% of the vote counted, Trump was on 60.5%, with John Kasich on 25.1% and Ted Cruz trailing with just 14.5%.