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UP FRONTWednesday 18 May 2016
Kentucky Primary
Continued from Front
The race was too close to
call a winner in Kentucky
but Clinton wrote on her
Twitter feed: “We just won
Kentucky! Thanks to every-
one who turned out. We’re
always stronger united.”
With almost all the votes
counted, Clinton held a
narrow lead of less than
one-half of 1 percent as
she tried to avoid ending
the primary season with a
string of losses to the Ver- tween the two sides, Sand-
mont senator.
Sanders was favored in Or-
egon’s primary later Tues-
day.
Clinton holds a com-
manding lead of nearly
300 pledged delegates
over Sanders and a domi-
nant advantage among
party officials and elected
leaders known as super-
delegates. The outcomes
in Kentucky and Oregon
were not expected to
change that and the for-
mer secretary of state re-
mains on track to clinch
the nomination in early
June.
Tuesday’s elections took
place amid new ques-
tions about party unity
In this May 8, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,
speaks at a campaign rally in Piscataway, N.J. help to bring back the
following a divisive week-
end state party conven-
tion in Nevada. Supporters
of Sanders tossed chairs
and made death threats
against the Nevada party
chairwoman at the event
in Las Vegas, arguing the
party leadership rigged the
results of the convention in
favor of Clinton.
In a sign of the tensions be- which held its territorial con- with five delegates remain-
ers issued a defiant state-
ment on Tuesday dismissing
complaints from Nevada
Democrats as “nonsense”
and said his supporters
were not being treated
with “fairness and respect.”
Trump won the sole GOP
contest in Oregon. The
billionaire businessman
picked up nine delegates
earlier Tuesday in Guam,
vention in March, and had
1,143 delegates heading
in November. I want to
kind of economy that
Associated Press worked for everybody in
the 1990s.”
into the Oregon contest — Facing a choice between
fewer than 100 delegates Clinton and Sanders, phy-
short of the 1,237 he needs sician Annie Skaggs in
to clinch the nomination. Campbellsville, Kentucky,
For Democrats, 55 del- said she had a hard time
egates were up for grabs making up her mind.
in Kentucky and 61 dele- “I like them both. I want-
gates were at stake in Or- ed to put them both in a
egon. Clinton and Sanders blender and whir them
will each pick up at least up together,” she said. “I
25 delegates in Kentucky, voted for Hillary. She’s got
a little broader base and
ing to be allocated pend- more experience, espe-
ing final vote tallies. cially with foreign policy.”
The Sanders campaign did Sharon Sharp said she
not immediately saying voted for Sanders for one
whether it will challenge reason: He is not Hillary
the results in Kentucky, Clinton.
which does not have an “Benghazi and the
automatic recount. emails? That’s just too
much to trust her to run
my country,” Sharp said
after casting her vote.
Sanders was favored in
Oregon, which is among
the nation’s most liberal
states. Sanders secured
the endorsement of Sen.
Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in
April.
Nearing the end of a
long primary slog, the two
Democratic candidates
are preparing for June
7 primaries in California,
New Jersey and four oth-
In Kentucky, the former er states. When pledged
secretary of state visited delegates and superdel-
black churches, a small- egates are combined,
town diner and held rallies Clinton is now about 95
on Sunday and Monday in percent of the way to-
an effort to break up Sand- ward securing the Demo-
ers’ momentum after his cratic nomination.
recent victories in Indiana Sanders has vowed to
and West Virginia. campaign through the
Clinton’s husband, former end of the primary season
President Bill Clinton, was on June 14 in the District
the last Democrat to carry of Columbia and amass
the state in a presidential as many delegates as
election — he won Ken- possible to influence the
tucky in 1992 and 1996 — party’s platform and mes-
and the former first lady sage.
tried to emphasize those He is still aiming to wres-
ties in the days leading up tle the nomination from
to the primary. Clinton, even though he
“I’m excited about the pri- would need to win about
mary but we’ve got to turn two-thirds of the remain-
a lot of people out,” Clin- ing pledged delegates to
ton told a packed diner in end the primary season in
Paducah, Ky., on Monday. a tie.
“I’ll tell you this. I’m not go- Sanders campaigned
ing to give up on Kentucky Monday and Tuesday in
Puerto Rico, which holds
its contest on June 5, and
was holding a rally in the
Los Angeles area late
Tuesday.q