Hillary Clinton won the Arizona Democratic primary on Tuesday over Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), extending her lead in the race to become the party’s 2016 presidential nominee.
Clinton currently leads Sanders by 25 points, with 46 percent of precincts reporting. The former secretary of state came into the night with around a 30 point lead in polls around the state.
Even so, Sanders battled for the southwestern state, including campaigning over the weekend at rallies where he criticized the idea of building walls and aggressively targeting Hispanic immigrants in the country.
“You’re all part of something bigger than yourselves,” Clinton told supporters at a rally in Seattle, Washington, Tuesday night. “You’re part of the most consequential campaign in America.”
Clinton added that it was “exciting” to see the results of her victory in Arizona. Addressing the terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday, Clinton said America needs leaders who are “strong, smart, and above all, steady.”
“The last thing we need, my friends, are leaders who incite more fear,” Clinton said, adding that responses to the attacks by her Republican counterparts were “dangerous.”
Clinton stands to gain at least 40 of Arizona’s 75 available delegates, which are awarded proportionally between the candidates. Sanders will take home at least 16 delegates.
The ultimate goal is to capture 2,383 delegates in order to gain the Democratic nomination. From there, a contest with likely Republican nominee Donald Trump awaits.
Trump won the Republican primary in Arizona on Tuesday night.
The Democratic primary campaign moves next to Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington on March 26.
Update 11:17pm CT, March 22: Added comments from Clinton.
Update 11:32pm CT, March 22: Added Arizona’s expected delegate split.
Photo via Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0)
