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Clinton defends her home state, wins New York

Posted at 5:11 PM, Apr 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-20 00:45:49-04

Just like in sports, one way to stop a losing streak is by playing a home game. For Hillary Clinton, returning to New York re-energized the Democratic front-runner. 

After losing eight out of the previous nine contests, Clinton put a resounding stop to Sen. Bernie Sanders' momentum by winning the New York primaries by double figures. 

Clinton has been projected the winner in Tuesday's New York primary, as she leads Sanders by a 60 to 40 margin with 64 percent of the vote reporting. The win was largely expected as she had been leading in opinion polling in the weeks leading up to the New York primary. 

Speaking from the state she represented for eight years in the United States Senate, Clinton was trying to extend the olive branch to those who support Sanders. 

"To the people who support Bernie Sanders, there is a lot more that unites us than divides us," Clinton said Tuesday evening. 

Clinton will take the majority of the 247 delegates — delegates that make it nearly impossible for Sanders to catch before July's Democratic National Convention. Sanders had trimmed his deficit in pledged delegates to fewer than 250, but has always faced a huge disadvantage when super delegates are factored in. 

Given her place in the standings, Clinton sees the path to the nomination is within reach. 

"The race for the Democratic nomination is in the home stretch and victory is within sight," Clinton said. 

Sanders spoke from Pennsylvania Tuesday before the polls in New York closed. Despite the odds, Sanders said he is vowing to take the race all the way through June. 

"We lost tonight, but there are five primaries next week and we think we will do well in them," Sanders told CNN late Tuesday night. "We have a path toward victory which we are going to fight to maintain. We think we have the message that is resonating across this country. We have come a long, long way."