Front-runners Take NY

Last week, btw brought you news leading up to the New York primary. This week, we offer the results and a follow up.

Numbers and Demographics

As predicted, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were victorious, with Clinton winning 57.9 percent of the vote and Trump taking 60.5 percent (his largest victory margin so far of the campaign). Ohio governor John Kasich, who had been trailing considerably in the GOP race, made a significant gain over Ted Cruz (25.1 percent to 14.5 percent). With 247 Democrat and 95 Republican delegates at stake, the allocation breakdown shook out like this: Trump=89, Kasich=3, Cruz=0; Clinton=139, and Sanders=106.

The breakdown of the demographics of voters was as follows: Kasich’s sole victory in New York was a big symbolic win, as he defeated Trump in the mogul’s home territory, Manhattan. Cruz failed to win the majority of votes in a single county. Many believe this is because the Empire State is typically a Blue state (the majority of its population votes Democratic) and Cruz is a far-Right religious conservative. But many believe the Senator’s “New York values” comment during a debate offended many voters. Trump won over voters of all ages, races, genders, and income levels.

Clinton’s wide-margin lead over Sanders was concentrated in New York City and the state’s other mid-sized cities like Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse. She easily won the vote of Hispanic and black voters. Sanders won favor with those who believe strongly in reform of government and Wall Street.

Challenges

The New York Board of Elections was plagued with a number of problems. Before voting day, 60,000 people received notices with the wrong date of the primary. Another 125,000 were removed from voter rolls. Polling locations across New York City reported numerous problems, such as broken machines, running out of GOP ballots, the removal of entire blocks of voters from lists, and requiring those with last names at the end of the alphabet to vote via affidavit. The state’s attorney general’s office reported a record number of complaints.

What’s Next?

We are entering the “home stretch,” with 620 total unpledged Republican delegates and 1,400 for the Democrats. Trump is 392 delegates short of securing the nomination outright; Hillary is 453 short. Sanders still has a chance to catch up, while it will be very difficult for Cruz or Kasich to catch up. Five states—Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island—will vote next Tuesday (April 26). Three of them are winner-take-all, with Pennsylvania having the most delegates at stake (210 Democrat and 71 Republican). But it is the contest in California in June (with its 546 Democratic delegates and 172 Republican delegates) that will likely get much of the attention going forward.

Dig Deeper Do some research into any legal or political fallout (if any) from the polling problems in New York (especially Manhattan). Write a paragraph about what you find.