Trump, Clinton aim to seal deal in Tuesday primaries
washington — US presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump seek to deliver knockout blows against their rivals in Tuesday’s five high-stakes primaries, with pressure mounting to wrap up the nomination races and pivot toward the general election battle.
The extraordinary 2016 race has tested American political tradition, with the Democratic and Republican parties taking their nomination battles deep into primary season.
Clinton faces a resilient liberal Senator Bernie Sanders, whose grassroots campaign to highlight income inequality has mobilised millions of young voters.
But the ex-secretary of state is poised to extend her delegate lead on Tuesday when Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island host their primaries.
Clinton is the inevitable nominee now and the only question is at what point does she wrap up the magic number of necessary delegates Terry Madonna, Politics professor
Pressed on Saturday on reports that she has begun her search for a running mate, Clinton shook her head and replied: “I’m just working hard to win on Tuesday.”
Clinton leads in polling in the northeastern states, and if she sweeps all five Sanders will be hard pressed to exit the race.
Politics professor Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania said Sanders is “obstinate” about staying in the race, perhaps to earn a speaking spot at the Democratic convention in July.
Clinton “is the inevitable nominee now and the only question is at what point does she wrap up the magic number” of necessary delegates, Madonna said.
A canopy of drama hangs over the Republican race, where the math points to a contested convention. That means Trump will have to defy the odds with particularly strong showings through the remainder of the statewide contests if he is to win the nomination outright before the party’s delegates gather in Cleveland in July to pick their nominee.
Snatching most of the Republican delegates at stake April 26 would propel him that much closer to reaching the 1,237 delegates needed to nail down the nomination.