Tuesday night demonstrated once again the momentum behind Donald Trump and presumption that Hilary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. Trump not only managed to secure a sweep of all 5 states for grabs but with a majority of votes in each one. Even though Clinton could not tout a similar achievement, she secured 4 of the 5 states, losing Rhode Island to Sanders. With these wins, both victors are able to strut more confidently towards the convention as the presumptive nominee.
With her triumph, Hilary Clinton has more than 90% of the needed delegate to secure the party’s nomination at the Democratic convention this summer. Her nomination appears to be secure, yet Sanders plans to go on fighting until the last primary election, which will be in Washington DC on June 14th. Even though Bernie Sanders does not have a chance to win the nomination via the delegates, his vow to continue on appears to be more symbolic.
Sanders perhaps believes that even though he may not get nomination, he will need to continue his “revolution” to make sure it is not lost upon Hilary and her battle into the general elections. Without any doubt, Sanders has been a catalyst for causing Hilary Clinton to shift her stances and policies more towards the left during this primary season. It will be hard for her to return to her original stance during the general election without alienating the Sander voters, which she will need. The Sanders effect may cause Hilary to either elect him or another progressive as a running mate such as Elizabeth Warner in order to ensure she retains and continues to invigorate the part of the Democratic base that Bernie Sanders has.
Nothing has further emboldened Donald Trump than his sweep across all 5 states that were up for grab. Not only is he inching closer to the nomination, but in his victory speech, Trump declared himself the presumptive nominee. With the last primary challenges going into early June and ending with California, it appears Trump will win the majority of delegates heading into the convention but will he win the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination?
The Trump campaign hopes to secure the necessary delegate count in order to win the nomination on the first ballot process of the Republican convention. If they are unsuccessful, pandemonium will ensue. This is Cruz’s campaign strategy. They know it is mathematically impossible for them to win the delegate count, so the recent alliance with Kasich is an attempt by both campaigns to combine efforts to help stop the Trump momentum and force a second ballot count at the convention where anything can happen.
No matter what these candidates do, there is no doubt that the Republican primary will get more interesting as voters head into the convention.
As the Democratic race comes to an end, the Republican primary appears to be heating up. Nevertheless, this election will forever leave an imprint on both the voters and establishment on how the culmination of government ineptness on both sides has led to an intra-party revolution of sorts. Despite what happens at the convention and in the general election, the American electorate as well as the election process has forever changed. The rift between the people and establishment has manifested itself into candidates that were not expected. But it appears that the people have spoken.
