The Associated Press and other news outlets are projecting Hillary Clinton will be the winner of seven different state primary elections, after a pivotal day in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders won contests in Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and, as expected, his home state of Vermont.
A large enough margin of victory for Clinton tonight could have signaled an insurmountable lead over Sanders, but his victories tonight mean that the race for delegates will continue on at least through mid-March votes, when major states like Florida and Ohio cast their ballots.
However, Sanders is falling even further behind in the delegate count, and Clinton looks likely to exceed her delegate targets tonight. That means Sanders will need to significantly out-perform his current results in future contests simply to equal Clinton by the time of the convention.
Clinton’s strength with minority voters was on display in today’s elections, many of them in southern states where the Democratic electorate includes large proportions of African Americans. Her victories today were foreshadowed last week in South Carolina.
On March 6, Sanders and Clinton will meet for another debate in Flint, Michigan—a city engulfed by a scandal over the devastating failure of its water system. Michigan Democrats will go to the polls just two days later. It will be one of Sanders’ last chances to push voters to re-think Clinton and her record.
Sanders took the stage early in the evening in his home state of Vermont, sounding hoarse after barnstorming around the country. He took advantage of the national television coverage to deliver his stump speech, but his promise to win “many hundreds of delegates” was decidedly tepid. He will need more than that to win.
Clinton spoke in Miami, at an event designed to boost turnout when the state weighs in on Mar. 15. She took the opportunity to try out some general election rhetoric, criticizing Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric and promising to make America whole again before endorsing “love and kindness.”
Here’s a table of the results tonight: