WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton emerged from New York's presidential primary closer to clinching the Democratic nomination and becoming the first woman to reach that milestone. Republican Donald Trump strengthened his own path to the general election with a victory, but has little room for error in the states ahead.
Clinton was scheduled to spend Wednesday campaigning in Pennsylvania, while Trump had a rally planned in Maryland, as well as Indiana.
After her win in New York, Clinton made clear she was moving past her unexpectedly competitive primary battle with Bernie Sanders and setting her sights on the general election.
"The race for the nomination is in the home stretch, and victory is in sight," Clinton declared to cheering supporters. She mentioned Sanders only briefly as she appealed for support from his loyal backers, and saved her toughest talk for Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, deeming both "dangerous" for America.
With at least 89 of New York's 95 delegates in hand, Trump said it was "impossible" for any of his rivals to catch him and warned party leaders against trying to take the nomination away from him at the convention.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich won at least three New York delegates; Cruz was in danger of getting shut out. Neither has a mathematical chance of clinching the nomination before the Republican convention in July, though they hope to block Trump's path and overtake him at the GOP gathering.
Cruz panned Trump's win in New York as little more than "a politician winning his home state," then implored Republicans to unite around his candidacy.
"We must unite the Republican Party because doing so is the first step in uniting all Americans," Cruz said.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.