LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: His White House dreams fading, Bernie Sanders aimed to add another state to his tally over Hillary Clinton with a win in West Virginia on Tuesday night.
Such a result would underscore the awkward position of Clinton and the Democratic Party establishment, as they attempt to turn their focus to the general election.
A Sanders victory would highlight yet again her struggles to win over white men and independents, weaknesses that presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump wants to exploit in the fall campaign.
A week after he cleared the field of his remaining rivals, Trump won on Tuesday in West Virginia. It was not a victory likely to heal the party's wounds, as some GOP leaders continue to hold off offering their endorsement.
Among those voting in the state's Democratic primary, about a third said they would support Trump over either Clinton or Sanders in November. An additional 2 in 10 say they wouldn't vote for either candidate. But 4 in 10 said also said they consider themselves to be independents or Republicans, and not Democrats, according to exit polls.
Clinton is just 155 delegates short of the 2,383 she needs to secure the nomination. To win them, she needs just 17 per cent of the delegates at stake in the remaining contests.
That means she could lose all the states left to vote by a landslide and still emerge as the nominee, so long as all of her supporters among the party insiders known as superdelegates continue to back her.
Still, Sanders is vowing to fight on. He campaigned in California on Tuesday for the state's June 7 primary.
While Sanders is still attracting thousands to rallies, his campaign has grown harder as Clinton closes in on the nomination. His fundraising has fallen off and so, too, has his advertising, with only about $525,000 in ads planned for California and $63,000 each in West Virginia and Oregon, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG.
That's a significant decline from the wall-to-wall advertising campaign he ran earlier in the primary, during which his $74 million in ads outspent Clinton by $14 million.
Edward Milam, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, is a self-described socialist who gave money to the Sanders campaign but his vote Tuesday to Clinton.
"After about six-seven months of debating and watching, I think Hillary has a lot more to offer than Bernie internationally," the 68-year-old retiree said. "I think she handles herself well. I've known about her for 30 years, just like everybody else has. I don't think there will be any surprises."
Even as the primaries continue, Clinton has largely shifted her focus to the general election. On Monday, she courted suburban women in Virginia and on Tuesday, in Lexington, Kentucky, she released a proposal to ensure families don't spend more than 10 percent of their income on child care.
"I don't care about what he says about me," she said of Trump in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday night. "But I do resent what he says about other people, other successful women, women who have worked hard, women who have done their part."
Clinton's campaign hopes suburban women, turned off by Trump's bombastic rhetoric, could be a key source of support for her in the fall.
But she's also trying to stop Sanders from gaining the psychological advantage of a series of wins this month. Her team went up with a $160,000 ad buy in Kentucky on Tuesday, a modest effort aimed at cutting into Sanders' support before the state's primary in a week.
Democrats also held a primary election Tuesday in Nebraska, although the party allocated all its delegates to the summer nominating convention in an earlier caucus won by Sanders.
Such a result would underscore the awkward position of Clinton and the Democratic Party establishment, as they attempt to turn their focus to the general election.
A Sanders victory would highlight yet again her struggles to win over white men and independents, weaknesses that presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump wants to exploit in the fall campaign.
Among those voting in the state's Democratic primary, about a third said they would support Trump over either Clinton or Sanders in November. An additional 2 in 10 say they wouldn't vote for either candidate. But 4 in 10 said also said they consider themselves to be independents or Republicans, and not Democrats, according to exit polls.
Advertisement
That means she could lose all the states left to vote by a landslide and still emerge as the nominee, so long as all of her supporters among the party insiders known as superdelegates continue to back her.
Advertisement
While Sanders is still attracting thousands to rallies, his campaign has grown harder as Clinton closes in on the nomination. His fundraising has fallen off and so, too, has his advertising, with only about $525,000 in ads planned for California and $63,000 each in West Virginia and Oregon, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG.
Advertisement
Edward Milam, of Cross Lanes, West Virginia, is a self-described socialist who gave money to the Sanders campaign but his vote Tuesday to Clinton.
Advertisement
Even as the primaries continue, Clinton has largely shifted her focus to the general election. On Monday, she courted suburban women in Virginia and on Tuesday, in Lexington, Kentucky, she released a proposal to ensure families don't spend more than 10 percent of their income on child care.
Advertisement
Clinton's campaign hopes suburban women, turned off by Trump's bombastic rhetoric, could be a key source of support for her in the fall.
But she's also trying to stop Sanders from gaining the psychological advantage of a series of wins this month. Her team went up with a $160,000 ad buy in Kentucky on Tuesday, a modest effort aimed at cutting into Sanders' support before the state's primary in a week.
Democrats also held a primary election Tuesday in Nebraska, although the party allocated all its delegates to the summer nominating convention in an earlier caucus won by Sanders.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Hulk Hogan Tears Off Shirt In Support Of Donald Trump At Republican Event "I Wanted To": Trump On Why He Raised His Arm Seconds After Shooting "Will End Every Single International Crisis": Trump Vows To End Wars If Elected Again CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor: The Culprit Behind World's Biggest IT Outage Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down UPSC Cracks Down, Says Puja Khedkar Faked Identity, Parents' Name, Address Amid Microsoft Outage, Chromebook, MacBook Users Enjoyed Smooth Operation Time For Rihanna's Fenty To Take A Bow As It Partners With The Olympics Delhi Cops Crack Kidney Sale Racket Operating Across 5 States Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.