Bernie Sanders Wins Indiana Primary

By Zach Cartwright

Bernie Sanders has officially been declared the victor of the Indiana Democratic primary, as Sanders holds a 5-point margin over Hillary Clinton with 94% of precincts reporting. Sanders currently holds 52.5% of the vote to Clinton’s 47.5%.

Sanders has been crisscrossing Indiana in the past week, bringing out thousands for rallies in college towns like South Bend, home of the University of Notre Dame, and in West Lafayette, which houses Purdue University. Sanders also attracted a massive crowd at Indiana University last Wednesday:

A few photos from today's visit from @SenSanders pic.twitter.com/BLbmVPVxCZ

— IndianaMemorialUnion (@OfficialIMU) April 28, 2016

The former First Lady also campaigned fiercely, with former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea stumping for her throughout Indiana. Senator Sanders spent $2 million of his campaign war chest in the Hoosier State, as he was in desperate need of a win after considerable losses in five of the last six primaries after a seven-victory streak.

Indiana’s Democratic process is an open primary, making it more favorable to the Sanders campaign, as he takes in an overwhelming number of independent votes when compared to Hillary Clinton.

The victory in Indiana will give Sanders much-needed momentum heading into next week’s Guam caucus and West Virginia primary, where Sanders is favored to win most of the 36 combined pledged delegates available in the two upcoming contests. While down in pledged delegates, Sanders has vowed to stay in the contest until every state and territory has voted, ensuring a contested Democratic National Convention in July if he continues to stack up wins in the remaining primaries and caucuses.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump won the night with an overwhelming margin over Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Cruz ended his presidential campaign after losing Indiana, making Kasich the only remaining challenger to Trump.

Zach Cartwright is an activist and author from Richmond, Virginia. He enjoys writing about politics, government, and the media. Send him an email: zachcartwright88@gmail.com