Wisconsin voters gave Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) exactly what he needed Tuesday night: a lifeline to stay in the race.
The Sanders campaign had to not only win the Badger state primary, it had to win big. And with nearly all the vote counted, it did just that, beating the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 57 to 43 percent.
The Democratic Socialist was fueled by the support of young voters, winning 82 percent of voters 19-29 years old, according to CNN exit polls. He also benefited from party voters who are lurching to the left. ABC News found that two-thirds of Wisconsinites described themselves to pollsters as liberal or “very” liberal—a record breaking turnout dating back to 1976. It was a record low turnout for Democrats who identified as moderates. Their ranks dropped from 40 percent in 2008 to only a quarter of party voters Tuesday.
According to the New York Times pledged delegate calculator, Sanders needs to nab roughly 57% of the remaining pledged delegates in the race to overtake Clinton’s big lead–something he has done in winning the last six primary contests.If he makes up the gap, Sanders would then need to sway superdelegates his way ahead of the Democratic Convention in July.
“I think a lot of these superdelegates are going to be saying which candidate has the momentum, which one brings out huge numbers,” Sanders told thousands of supporters in a victory speech Tuesday night in Wyoming, where he is likely to extend his winning streak in the state’s caucus on Saturday.
But the biggest test for the campaign lies ahead on April 19, in the delegate-rich state of New York. Both candidates can call the Big Apple home: Sanders was born and raised in Brooklyn and Clinton served last decade as one of the state’s US Senators.
Polls from the Empire State reveal a race that has tightened considerably since the beginning of this year, when surveys showed Clinton holding a commanding 20 point lead. According to the latest YouGov poll, her lead has diminished to a mere ten points. The two are set to square off in a debate in Brooklyn on April 14.
Republicans are also eyeing the state in two weeks in their bid to stop businessman Donald Trump from becoming the party’s nominee—an effort that was bolstered Tuesday night by Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) sizable win in Wisconsin.
Cruz collected nearly all of the state’s delegates in beating the nationalist real estate tycoon 48 to 35 percent. Governor John Kasich (R-Ohio) collected 14 percent of the vote.
Although Trump still holds a hefty delegate lead over his rivals, the loss in Wisconsin makes it increasingly likely that he will come up short of the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination before the party’s July convention.
Trump surprised few with a less than gracious statement after the loss on Tuesday night.
“Lyin’ Ted Cruz had the Governor of Wisconsin, many conservative talk radio show hosts, and the entire party apparatus behind him,” the Trump campaign claimed. “Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet— he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump,” it added.
