Today [Tuesday, April 19] all eyes are settled on New York as the state holds both the Democratic and Republican primaries.
With a substantial amount of delegates up for grabs—291 for Democrats and 95 for Republicans—candidates will be looking to distance themselves in this race with a significant victory.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are hoping to finally gain the right amount of delegates to widen the growing gap that could propel them to the November 2016 election.
Both calling New York home, Mr. Trump’s notoriety as a real estate mogul and Secretary Clinton’s run as a New York senator for eight years is what these two hope will play in their favor as voters take to the polls today.
Democrat Bernie Sanders, born and raised in Brooklyn, will be looking to clinch votes and their subsequent delegate counts, alluding to his upbringings as a native New Yorker.
For Trump, a win of 50 percent or more puts him in a position to grab all 95 of the state’s GOP delegates, giving him the right comeback to speed toward the nomination.
Senator Ted Cruz doesn’t expect much of a showing in New York, especially following his criticism of Donald Trump’s “New York values” early in the race. Instead, Cruz looks toward the other Northern states that remain, specifically Pennsylvania who will be voting next week.
While Sanders has been steadily creeping up to Clinton in entrance polls, one thing that could very well keep him from the victory is that New York is a closed primary. This means that only people who are registered with the Democratic party are allowed to vote, edging out a lot of last minute voters, specifically the young and the liberal, who Sanders’s campaign has catered to within this race.
However, a still plausible win in New York would demonstrate Sanders’s ability to shake up the political playing field for good, strengthening the stance that he can still sway Democratic voters and take this race all the way to the very end.
