The Pennsylvania primary came to a close on April 26, 2016, with voters in the Keystone State ultimately casting Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the winners. Early exit polls from CNN revealed that Pennsylvania is laden with White Evangelical Christians, with 58 percent of them choosing Trump as their presidential candidate. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz received 29 percent and John Kasich gained 12 percent. It was a clean sweep for Trump, who ultimately won all five states–Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania–during Tuesday’s Northeastern vote.
CNN reported prior to the primary that the reality TV star had called out his opponents in a speech in West Chester, demanding to know whether the crowd wanted someone who had already lost the previous year. It was also reported that 70 percent of GOP voters believed if no one received the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination, the primary winner ought to be chosen to represent the party. The billionaire’s win in Pennsylvania guarantees him 17 delegates.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was aiming to breeze past her opponent, Bernie Sanders, on the road to the presidential nomination. After snatching the New York primary from Sanders, Clinton solidified her stance within the Northeastern United States by winning 57 percent of Democratic voters in Pennsylvania, with Sanders taking the remaining 40 percent.
With 2,013 delegates, Clinton stated that she did not believe Sanders could bridge the gap between them, citing that she has 2.7 million more votes and 250 more delegate votes. According to NBC News, the state’s Democratic exit polls revealed that most voters wanted the next president to continue with the current trajectory of President Obama, and Clinton’s significant win in the Keystone State reflected that sentiment.
By Juanita Lewis
Edited by Leigh Haugh
Sources:
CNN: What to Watch on Super Tuesday
The New York Times: What to Watch for in Primaries in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and 3 Other States
NBC News: Live Blog: Exit Poll Analysis From Tuesday’s Primaries
Image Courtesy of Woody Hibbard’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
