Trump and Clinton Win Big in New York, Edge Closer to Nomination

Rebecca Oh, Staff Writer

As anticipated by pollsters, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and native New Yorker Donald Trump both won in their respective New York presidential primaries on Tuesday.

The day was filled with hundreds of thousands of complaints from voters. Many were frustrated by New York’s particularly strict voter registration laws. In New York, voters had to have registered to vote by March 25. New York also has restrictions concerning its closed primary, so voters needed to enroll in either political party by October 9 of last year. Thus, any registered New York independents who developed a preference for either a Republican or Democratic candidate since October 9 were disenfranchised in the primary. Controversy also stemmed from reports that 125,000 voters in Brooklyn were removed from voter rolls and turned away at the polls.

Ultimately, Trump triumphed over his competitors by a wide margin. The businessman known for his fast and loose speech won over 60.1 percent of the vote. Kasich and Cruz managed 25.2 percent and 14.8 percent of the vote, respectively.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton pulled off a win with 57.6 percent of the vote. Sanders struggled, getting 42.4 percent of the vote. Clinton as a result won 104 of the state’s 247 delegates, while Sanders managed 85.

Sanders headed into New York having won seven out of the last eight primaries. The Vermont senator remained optimistic about his chances, despite Clinton leading him in New York Democratic polls by about 12 points on Monday. On the other side of the aisle, Republican candidate Donald Trump led his competitors John Kasich and Ted Cruz by more than 30 points leading into the primary.

Despite the loss in New York, Sanders still stands a chance of securing the Democratic nomination. Excluding super delegates that may change their allegiance, the delegate count for Clinton and Sanders respectively stands at 1,393 to 1,130. With 1,383 delegates from 19 states and territories left, the race is far from over. In order to seize the democratic nomination, a candidate must win 2,383 delegates.

On the Republican side, the win in New York only confirmed an already commanding lead for Trump. The delegate count for GOP candidates currently stands at Trump 840, Cruz 559 and Kasich 146.

If Trump fails to secure the Republican nomination before the convention, it is possible that party leaders will attempt to nominate a non-primary candidate. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is currently seen by some in the G.O.P. as an alternative choice for the nomination. And while Ryan said recently that he has no interest in running for the presidency, Ryan once said the same about being Speaker of the House.  

Email Rebecca Oh at [email protected].