Hillary Clinton Wins Close Missouri Democratic Primary

After cruising to wins in Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton has now also won the Missouri Democratic primary over challenger Bernie Sanders. With Clinton also claiming a close victory in Illinois, the win in Missouri gives Hillary a five-state sweep from Tuesday’s Democratic primaries. The win also gives Hillary 18 states to Sanders’ nine.

It’s official: Hillary Clinton swept all five states that voted on Tuesday https://t.co/pqLXhWU7ej

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 18, 2016

According to CNN, the race was called on Thursday night with Clinton ahead by 1,531 votes, although some absentee ballots still had yet to be counted. Instead of demanding a recount, Sanders has reportedly accepted the announcement that Hillary came out on top.

“I think it’s unlikely the results will impact at all the number of delegates the candidate gets and I would prefer to save the taxpayers of Missouri some money,” Sanders said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs said that Bernie is ready to move on to focus on future primaries instead of haggling over a few possible delegates in Missouri.

“His focus now is on the second half of the delegate selection process. He’s looking forward to Arizona, Idaho and Utah next Tuesday and moving on to other important states including Wisconsin, New York and California,” Briggs said in an email to CNN.

He added of Sanders, “He’s taking the contest all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.”

Despite the loss, Sanders and Clinton will nearly split the delegates in both Missouri and Illinois.

As things currently stand, Hillary has 1,614 of the 2,308 delegates needed to secure the Democratic Presidential Nomination. Sanders, on the other hand, sits at 856 with only 2,295 remaining. That means Sanders must win 63 percent of the remaining delegates in order to win the nomination over Clinton, while Hillary only needs just north of 30 percent. Things are definitely trending in Hillary Clinton’s favor.

Up next for Clinton and Sanders are Tuesday’s Arizona and Utah primaries and the Idaho caucus. Sanders was out in Flagstaff, Arizona, campaigning on Thursday and set his sights on controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been at the center of a number of racial profiling lawsuits.

“What he is doing is un-American and uncivilized,” said Sanders.

“It’s easy for bullies like Sheriff Arpaio to pick on people who have no power,” Sanders said. “If I’m elected president… watch out, Joe.”

To further appeal to the many Native Americans in Arizona, Sanders brought up the Washington Redskins and the controversy over the team name.

“The city of Washington has a very good football team, but it doesn’t have to be called the Redskins,” he said.

Clinton will also be campaigning in Arizona, and she’s expected to hold a rally at a get-out-the-vote event in Phoenix on Monday. Hillary’s message “will discuss her plans to break down racial, social and economic barriers for families as president,” according to the Clinton campaign.

Democratic front-runner @HillaryClinton to rally supporters in Phoenix ahead of Arizona’s primary. https://t.co/Q8NdQHcbin

— Dan Nowicki (@dannowicki) March 17, 2016

Clinton gave an exclusive interview to KTAR News in Phoenix on Thursday. Hillary commended former President George W. Bush and current President Barack Obama, whom Clinton served as Secretary of State, on the improvements they’ve made protecting the United States and Mexico border.

“I think we’ve done a really good job securing the border,” Clinton said. “I think that those who say we haven’t are not paying attention to what was done the last 15 years under President (George W.) Bush and President (Barack) Obama.”

Hillary also stated that immigration from Mexico isn’t as much of a problem as it used to be, as the number of people immigrating across the border has slowed significantly.

“Immigration from Mexico has dropped considerably,” Clinton said. “It’s just not happening anymore.”

Immigration has been brought to the forefront by Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump, who has stated he would build a wall across the Mexican border. As much as Hillary’s campaigning against Sanders, she’s also combating Trump, who would be her biggest competition in the National Election.

While Clinton wants to move towards comprehensive immigration reform, Hillary says that fixing the economy and improving education and health care remain higher on her priority list.

“I think the No. 1 issue is getting the economy growing again with more good jobs and rising incomes,” Hillary said. “I think that goes hand in hand with good education and good health care.”

Clinton also touched on gun control during the interview which is a hot-button issue in Arizona after Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head by Jared Lee Loughner in 2011. Six people were killed and 19 were injured by Loughner who plead guilty to 19 different charges and was sentenced to life in prison. Giffords has endorsed Clinton.

“We’ve also got to crack down on reckless and negligent behavior by makers and sellers,” Hillary said, adding that there is no reason the industry should not be held accountable.

Hillary will be looking to keep the Clinton campaign momentum going on Tuesday in Arizona, Utah, and Idaho as she moves closer to the Democratic nomination. While Sanders is hoping to turn the tides as the campaigns move out west and away from Clinton’s stronghold in the South. It certainly seems to be Hillary Clinton’s race to lose at this point.

[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]