US Presidential Election 2016: Bernie Sanders snatches West Virginia from Hillary Clinton as Donald Trump cruises towards official nomination
Senator Bernie Sanders is refusing to go quietly, snatching the West Virginia primary from Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night and forcing her to fight on.
Clinton still has a commanding lead in the national race, but with Sanders still taking the odd state here and there, the former secretary of state won't be able to relax.
By staying in the race Sanders is able to have more say over the party's agenda, and the power to pull Clinton to the left.
Talking of his victory via email after the poll closed, Sanders said: “Every vote we earn and every delegate we secure sends an unmistakable message about the values we share, the country’s support for the ideas of our campaign, and a rejection of Donald Trump and his values.”
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“There is nothing I would like more than to take on and defeat Donald Trump, someone who must never become president of this country. But I believe that it is not enough to just reject Trump – this is an opportunity to define a progressive vision for America.
“Voters agree: just today, three new polls showed that we are the best campaign to defeat Trump.”
Indeed, a new poll conducted by Quinnipiac University showed that Clinton and Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in three key states.
Conversely, Sanders did better that Clinton is Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania – all states deemed key in winning the national vote in November.
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The 29 delegates offered by West Virginia are awarded on a proportional basis, so Sanders only made a small net gain.
The big prize coming up is California. If Clinton wins here she should be out of reach for Sanders.
On the Republican side of the race Trump overcame former and last standing rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich in Nebraska and West Virginia. The two remained on the ballot despite having dropped out of the race.
Trump has been attempting to unite the party, but is struggling as many long standing Republicans refuse to endorse him, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.