New York: In some good news to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton ahead of the crucial primaries here, the two US Presidential front-runners who suffered a string of losses recently were today declared the winners of the close Missouri primaries, nearly a month after the polls were held.
Announcing the results of the Republican and Democratic primaries held on March 15, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander tweeted: “I certified the presidential preference primary. @HillaryClinton and @realDonaldTrump have officially won Missouri.”
The votes in both parties were too close to call. In the Republican primary polls, Trump and rival Texas Senator Ted Cruz were neck-and-neck, as were Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic contest.
In the final tally, Trump pipped Cruz by just 0.2 percentage points — 40.9 per cent to Cruz’s 40.7. Trump will receive 37 delegates to Cruz’s 15. Ohio Governor John Kasich will receive no delegates. On the Democratic side, the 68-year-old former secretary of state also led Sanders also by 0.2 percentage points — 49.6 per cent to his 49.4. She won the election by about 1,500 votes of the 630,000 cast in the Democratic primary.
Each candidate will receive 34 delegates, but with superdelegates included, Clinton will have 46, CNN reported.
69-year-old Trump is looking to bounce back from a decisive loss in last week’s Wisconsin primary, while Clinton has lost eight of the last nine Democratic contests.
Reacting to the news of his victory, the real estate tycoon said, “Thank you to the great people of Missouri who voted for me and the state officials who worked to ensure the votes of the people mattered.”
“It is great to have yet another victory as we look forward to the upcoming primary in New York,” Trump said in a statement ahead of the crucial primaries here on April 19. New York will award 95 Republican delegates while the two Democratic candidates are fighting over 247 delegates in the city.
The additional 12 delegates from Missouri could give Trump an important boost after he was swept by Cruz over the weekend at the Colorado Republican convention.
The additional delegates bring Trump slightly closer to the 1,237 needed to secure the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump now has 758 delegates, Cruz has 538, Marco Rubio has 173 and John Kasich has 145.
Clinton and Trump are leading in the race to secure their respective party nominations ahead of election day on November 8.
The next primaries are set to take place on April 19 in New York where Clinton and Trump are both leading in opinion polls.
A Quinnipiac University survey showed Clinton — who represented New York for two terms in the Senate — with 53 per cent support along likely primary voters to 40 per cent for Sanders.
The NY1/Baruch poll gave Clinton a 50 per cent to 37 per cent lead over Sanders.
On the Republican camp, Trump has a significant lead over his rivals at 55 per cent of likely voters, to 20 per cent for Kasich and 19 per cent for Cruz, the Quinnipiac poll showed.
