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Clinton and Trump look to N.Y. primary to cement front-runner status Clinton and Trump look to N.Y. primary to cement front-runner status
(about 1 hour later)
NEW YORK — Voting opened Tuesday in the most raucous nominating contest of an already wild campaign season, making New York a coveted prize for both delegates and bragging rights that were expected to strengthen the trajectory of the two front-runners.NEW YORK — Voting opened Tuesday in the most raucous nominating contest of an already wild campaign season, making New York a coveted prize for both delegates and bragging rights that were expected to strengthen the trajectory of the two front-runners.
Polls show Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump ahead by double-digit margins in a state with vastly diverse backdrops from Wall Street to struggling industrial cities upstate.Polls show Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump ahead by double-digit margins in a state with vastly diverse backdrops from Wall Street to struggling industrial cities upstate.
A big win for Trump would bring him closer to securing an outright majority of Republican delegates — an outcome that remains in jeopardy and has prompted rival Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) to mount a spirited campaign to force a contested convention.A big win for Trump would bring him closer to securing an outright majority of Republican delegates — an outcome that remains in jeopardy and has prompted rival Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) to mount a spirited campaign to force a contested convention.
[GOP worries about convention chaos while Trump pushes for ‘showbiz’ feel][GOP worries about convention chaos while Trump pushes for ‘showbiz’ feel]
For Clinton, a victory would give her a boost of momentum after a blitz of recent primary and caucus wins by rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.). Unlike Trump, Clinton is so far ahead in the delegate count that it’s close to impossible for Sanders to catch up. For Clinton, a victory would provide a boost of momentum after a blitz of recent primary and caucus wins by rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.). Unlike Trump, Clinton is so far ahead in the delegate count that it is close to impossible for Sanders to catch up.
Clinton voted in Chappaqua in suburban New York. Supporters waited outside with signs and buttons. Many New Yorkers reveled Tuesday in their newfound relevance, even if they have grown a bit weary of the barrage of ads that have targeted them in recent weeks.
Clinton and former president Bill Clinton entered the polling station in an elementary school gymnasium. They were greeted by the school’s principal who snapped a selfie with the former first couple: “Mr. President! Get in it!” the principal said, urging Bill Clinton to join the photo. “It’s nice. I feel like our vote usually doesn’t count,” said Sunita Ray, 41, who voted for Clinton in midtown Manhattan. Still, she added, she will not miss some aspects of the heated primary campaign. “The ads were a little annoying.”
Clinton voted in Chappaqua in suburban New York, where supporters had waited outside with signs and buttons.
Clinton and former president Bill Clinton entered the polling station in an elementary school gymnasium. They were greeted by the school’s principal, who snapped a selfie with the former first couple: “Mr. President! Get in it!” the principal said, urging Bill Clinton to join the photo.
Later Tuesday, Clinton was expected to speak at the Building Trades Union Conference in Washington before returning to New York City.Later Tuesday, Clinton was expected to speak at the Building Trades Union Conference in Washington before returning to New York City.
Trump, meanwhile, appeared for a photo op at his own Trump Tower in Manhattan Monday with a new “diversity coalition.” The group, representing many ethnic groups, is trying to fight accusations that Trump has stoked racial and ethnic tensions with his anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Meanwhile, scores of onlookers gathered Tuesday morning outside Trump Tower to catch a glimpse of Trump as he left home to cast his ballot. They waved enthusiastically behind a barricade before the billionaire’s motorcade took off down 56th Street. The sidewalks surrounding Central Synagogue in Manhattan, where Trump voted, were lined with supporters and some protesters.
Speaking Tuesday on “Fox & Friends,” the New York billionaire said he was confident his home state would reject Cruz. “He does not like New York, and he doesn’t like New Yorkers,” Trump said. Someone asked Trump whom he intended to vote for. “Easy decision,” Trump said smiling.
Speaking Tuesday on “Fox & Friends,” the New York real estate magnate said he was confident his home state would reject Cruz. “He does not like New York, and he doesn’t like New Yorkers,” Trump said.
[Trump’s field director steps aside][Trump’s field director steps aside]
“Frankly we’re in a position where we’d like to close it out,” Trump said of amassing enough delegates to win on the first ballot at July’s GOP convention. “I think I’m going to get to the number, I’m pretty sure.”“Frankly we’re in a position where we’d like to close it out,” Trump said of amassing enough delegates to win on the first ballot at July’s GOP convention. “I think I’m going to get to the number, I’m pretty sure.”
The Sanders campaign has played down his prospects in New York, citing the state’s closed primary, which doesn’t allow the participation of independents. But Sanders has drawn tens of thousands of supporters at rallies in recent days, and he spent much of Monday shaking hands during a series of unannounced appearances around New York City. The Sanders campaign has played down his prospects in New York, citing the state’s closed primary, which does not allow the participation of independents. The senator noted Tuesday that some 3 million independents in New York will be unable to vote in the primaries on Tuesday because of the rule.
“My experience has been, in this campaign so far, is that we win when the turnout is high. We lose when the turnout is low,” Sanders told the audience in Queens late Monday, urging New Yorkers to “help take this country a giant step forward for the political revolution.” On a morning stroll around the block from the Times Square hotel where he was staying, Sanders ran into Michael Cantalupo, 21, a local television host, who told Sanders that he had missed the October deadline to switch his unaffiliated voting status to Democratic.
In a sign of how he is already looking ahead to other primary contests, Sanders was scheduled to fly to Pennsylvania later Tuesday. “This is the problem. Tell them,” Sanders told Cantalupo, directing him to talk to more than a dozen reporters trailing the senator on his walk.
On Monday, Sanders strolled down the Avenue of the Americas, greeting surprised Manhattanites over the course of 15 city blocks. “It shouldn’t be so hard,” Cantalupo said, summing up his failure to become a Democrat in time to cast a ballot for Sanders on Tuesday.
He also visited a public housing project in the Bronx, where he said a shuttered playground and community center were unacceptable “in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world.” “That’s a very unfortunate thing, I know,” Sanders said, before returning to his hotel.
Shortly afterward, he headed to Pennsylvania for two campaign stops scheduled later in the day.
Still, the candidate calling for “a political revolution” has plenty of support in New York, including from first-time voter Fitch Li, 28. Li said he backs Sanders’s plan to break up large banks, implement universal health care and push for free college tuition. And he said he is not sure he could ever vote for Clinton even if she wins the nomination.
“I think she’s hard to trust,” Li said. “And considering all the money she took from corporations . . . I feel like the president should be trustworthy, and she’s not.”
But others, such as 74-year old Bill Sattan, questioned whether Sanders could actually implement his ideas. “Breaking up the banks is good and all, but how are you going to do it?” said Sattan. He added, “I voted for the woman.”
Clinton has tailored her message in New York to her tenure as the state’s senator for eight years, calling upon voters to remember the work that she did on their behalf. But she has also sought to use Trump and New York’s diversity to make a sweeping case that the primary — and the election on a whole — is about a choice between her vision for the future and Trump’s divisive rhetoric.Clinton has tailored her message in New York to her tenure as the state’s senator for eight years, calling upon voters to remember the work that she did on their behalf. But she has also sought to use Trump and New York’s diversity to make a sweeping case that the primary — and the election on a whole — is about a choice between her vision for the future and Trump’s divisive rhetoric.
“I am so proud of New York,” Clinton said on Monday. “Lady Liberty stands in our harbor. We are a city of immigrants, a state of immigrants and a nation of immigrants.”
[Clinton asks New Yorkers to make primary a referendum on Trump][Clinton asks New Yorkers to make primary a referendum on Trump]
Trump has crisscrossed the state in recent days. Over the weekend, he held campaign events in Staten Island and in Poughkeepsie, where he accused Cruz of being dishonest and too close to special interests. He also highlighted his message of economic populism.Trump has crisscrossed the state in recent days. Over the weekend, he held campaign events in Staten Island and in Poughkeepsie, where he accused Cruz of being dishonest and too close to special interests. He also highlighted his message of economic populism.
Like Sanders, Cruz is bracing for a loss in New York, polling behind not only Trump in recent surveys but also Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose only primary victory so far came in his home state.Like Sanders, Cruz is bracing for a loss in New York, polling behind not only Trump in recent surveys but also Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose only primary victory so far came in his home state.
On Monday, Cruz was already looking ahead to a string of upcoming contests in Eastern states, including Maryland, which will vote next week. The senator from Texas spent Monday bouncing between New York and Maryland, where he held a rally at an American Legion hall in the Baltimore suburb of Towson. Cruz held a private meeting with GOP leaders in New York on Monday ahead of an evening fundraiser at the Harvard Club.On Monday, Cruz was already looking ahead to a string of upcoming contests in Eastern states, including Maryland, which will vote next week. The senator from Texas spent Monday bouncing between New York and Maryland, where he held a rally at an American Legion hall in the Baltimore suburb of Towson. Cruz held a private meeting with GOP leaders in New York on Monday ahead of an evening fundraiser at the Harvard Club.
In Maryland, he told supporters that he expects the state to have an “outsized voice” as “the nation is looking to Maryland to decide: Do we nominate Donald Trump and hand the election to Hillary Clinton, or do we unite behind the Cruz campaign and beat Hillary Clinton?”In Maryland, he told supporters that he expects the state to have an “outsized voice” as “the nation is looking to Maryland to decide: Do we nominate Donald Trump and hand the election to Hillary Clinton, or do we unite behind the Cruz campaign and beat Hillary Clinton?”
For Trump, a strong victory in New York could help him recover from several recent setbacks. Earlier this month, he lost the Wisconsin primary to Cruz amid a series of controversies over women’s issues that many critics hoped represented a break in the wave of populist momentum buoying his candidacy.For Trump, a strong victory in New York could help him recover from several recent setbacks. Earlier this month, he lost the Wisconsin primary to Cruz amid a series of controversies over women’s issues that many critics hoped represented a break in the wave of populist momentum buoying his candidacy.
The campaign also struggled to secure delegates in states, including Wyoming and Colorado, that require deep organization on the ground to secure favorable delegate slates. Cruz, meanwhile, has built up such organizations across the country, resulting in the selection of delegates who favor him. Many of these delegates will be bound to vote for Trump on a first ballot. But if Trump fails to secure an outright majority at the national convention, these delegates would be free to vote for Cruz on a second ballot. An NBC4-Wall Street Journal-Marist poll completed in New York last week found Trump leading the GOP field with 54 percent, followed by Kasich at 25 percent and Cruz at 16 percent. The same poll showed Clinton ahead of Sanders 57 percent to 40 percent.
The Trump campaign has struggled to secure delegates in states, including Wyoming and Colorado, that require deep organization on the ground to secure favorable delegate slates. Cruz, meanwhile, has built up such organizations across the country, resulting in the selection of delegates who favor him. Many of these delegates will be bound to vote for Trump on a first ballot. But if Trump fails to secure an outright majority at the national convention, these delegates would be free to vote for Cruz on a second ballot.
In recent days Trump has overhauled his staff, installing veteran strategist Paul Manafort to oversee his delegate and convention strategy and Rick Wiley, who previously managed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign, as his national political director. In response, Trump’s national field director, Stuart Jolly, resigned on Monday.In recent days Trump has overhauled his staff, installing veteran strategist Paul Manafort to oversee his delegate and convention strategy and Rick Wiley, who previously managed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign, as his national political director. In response, Trump’s national field director, Stuart Jolly, resigned on Monday.
Trump also acknowledged that his tendency to say controversial things might have undermined his campaign at points.Trump also acknowledged that his tendency to say controversial things might have undermined his campaign at points.
“I guess maybe I could have said a few less words, or a few less things,” Trump said when asked by a voter whether there is anything he would have done differently during his run.“I guess maybe I could have said a few less words, or a few less things,” Trump said when asked by a voter whether there is anything he would have done differently during his run.
Eilperin reported from Washington. Abby Phillip in Chappaqua, John Wagner in New York and Katie Zezima in Washington contributed to this report. Eilperin reported from Washington. Abby Phillip and John Wagner in New York and Katie Zezima and Scott Clement in Washington contributed to this report.