Democrats:
Propelled by a sweep of Southern states on Super Tuesday, Clinton is on a path toward a permanent lead among delegates.
miami » Hillary Clinton bested rival Bernie Sanders in seven Super Tuesday states, strengthening her momentum as she marches toward the Democratic presidential nomination.
Propelled in part by a sweep of Southern states with large black voting populations, Clinton is now on a path toward a permanent lead among delegates that will be hard for Sanders to surmount. Her performance Tuesday was expected to widen that lead dramatically as she tries to put to rest any lingering doubts over her shaky start in the 2016 voting.
Speaking to supporters in Miami on Tuesday night, Clinton seemed to assume the mantle of presumptive nominee, speaking only briefly of Sanders and instead looking ahead to the general election— and taking jabs at the Republican front- runner, Donald Trump, without mentioning his name.
“America prospers when we all prosper. America is strong when we’re all strong,” she said. “We know we’ve got work to do, but that work is not to make America great again. America never stopped being great. We have to make America whole; we have to fill in what’s been hollowed out.”
That play on Trump’s signature line gave a strong hint about the thrust of Clinton’s argument in a head- to- head contest: She would say the country needs to unite and build on what she calls President Barack Obama’s accomplishments, and she would seek to turn Trump’s bitter rhetoric against him.
“It’s clear tonight that the stakes of this election have never been higher,” Clinton said. “And the rhetoric we’re hearing on the other side has never been lower.”
She thanked supporters in Miami and said, “We have to make strong the broken places, re- stitch the bonds of trust and respect across our country.”
Sanders remains a potent force who can pull Clinton to the left and force her to spend money and other political resources to keep her footing in the primary race while she looks ahead to a likely contest against Trump in the fall.
Sanders’ campaign boasted Tuesday that he had raised more money in February, almost all of it in small amounts, than Clinton. The campaign also announced late Tuesday that itwould host a “path forward” breakfast for the media Wednesday to detail what it considers a viable way to get the Democratic nomination.
Up in Vermont, Sanders celebrated his home- state victory at a party in Essex Junction. He also won in Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota.