New York held Democratic and Republican primaries on April 19, with big wins for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Trump stumped his rivals with 60 percent of the vote and nearly every delegate. In total, Trump got more than 90 delegates out of the 99 delegates. Rival John Kasich was in a distant second, with 25 percent of the popular vote and a measly 5 delegates. The only area of New York State that voted against Trump was Manhattan, narrowly choosing Kasich over Trump. In a humiliating last place finish, Ted Cruz got 14 percent of the vote and zero delegates. Many pundits predicted a landslide defeat for Cruz after he lambasted “New York values” in one debate. Kasich’s low name recognition and weak appeal with urban workers, coupled with Cruz’s religious radicalism and previous insults to New York gave Trump the victory he got.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton won 58 percent of the vote in a widely expected victory. Clinton picked up 139 delegates in New York, while rival Bernie Sanders, having won 42 percent of the vote, gained 108 delegates. Clinton likely won because of Sanders campaign underestimating Clinton’s strength in her home state and failing to win over the support of minority groups.
The results from New York paint an appealing picture for Clinton and Trump. Clinton has now solidly proved she can win big in the very liberal northeast and looks forward to large victories in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Bernie Sanders’ chances of the nomination are growing near nil with this latest defeat, as he needs to take over 80 percent of the remaining delegates to gain the nomination, a practically impossible task. Still, he looks strong in Rhode Island and has a chance in Connecticut. On the Republican side, there is good news for Trump, though tough. Trump needs to win 58 percent of the remaining delegates to gain the nomination on the first ballot and avoid a brokered convention. With urban Mid Atlantic and West Coast states coming up, he has a strong chance of getting the nomination if he plays his cards right. A coalition of rural populists and blue collar workers could carry him to victory. Meanwhile, it is now mathematically impossible for Cruz to win on the first ballot as he needs 102 percent of the remaining delegates to take it, and now he must hope for a brokered convention. Kasich has little better news, as he requires 161 percent of the remaining delegates, and is still behind Marco Rubio, who has been out since March, in delegates. It looks like Trump will stump his rivals at the crucial intersection and face off against a seasoned Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail soon.
