The gauntlet has been thrown as Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders go head-to-head in the April 19 New York primary election.
Clinton has the advantage of serving as an elected official in the Empire State, whereas Sanders has the hometown claim as a native of Brooklyn. Both candidates have strong connections to the state, leaving many to ponder who will win.
Appearing confident that she will win New York State, Clinton said in a recent televised interview that Sanders has a long way to go to catch up to her 600-delegate lead.
“Sen. Sanders had a good night last night, and I congratulated him, but if you look at the numbers, I’m still considerably ahead in both the popular vote and, most importantly, the delegate count,” Clinton told CNN’s Chris Cuomo. “So I’m feeling very good about where we are.”
This week, Clinton made an appearance at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Public Advocate Letitia James and New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray.
“The reality is, Hillary Clinton has worked on a wide range of issues,” said James. “She’s the most experienced candidate in the race.”
Various polls, including Quinnipiac and CBS News/YouGov, predict Clinton winning 53 percent of the vote in New York. Sanders’ win in Wisconsin this week gave him much needed momentum. He took nearly 60 percent of the vote in that primary.
“With the victory in Wisconsin tonight … we have now won seven out of eight of the last caucuses and primaries,” Sanders said. “And we have won almost all of them with overwhelming landslide numbers.”
State Sen. Bill Perkins is an avid Bernie Sanders supporter. He told the AmNews, “I think he’s going to have an extraordinary turnout. Bernie is generating the young vote and he’s a winner that has been able to have masses of young people involved in the political process. People feel that he has their future in mind.”
Last week Sanders held a rally in the South Bronx at St. Mary’s Park. The event was attended by a reported 18,000 people. News also broke this week that Sanders is opening a campaign office in Harlem near 137th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, scheduled to open Saturday.
