WASHINGTON — New Yorkers delivered a resounding victory to Hillary Clinton on Tuesday to halt the winning streak of an increasingly hard-hitting Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary.
Clinton secured a majority of the state’s 247 delegates and a clear path to the Democratic nomination thanks to strong support from women, African-Americans and gun control advocates.
“Thank you, New York! Today you proved once again, there’s no place like home!” a jubilant Clinton told a packed Grand Ballroom at the Sheraton New York in Midtown.
“In this campaign, we’ve won in every region of the country, from the North to the South, to the East to the West, but this one’s personal.”
With almost all votes counted, Clinton had about 58 percent of the ballots to Sanders’ 42 percent. The win also meant 135 delegates for Clinton, who now has 1,442 pledged delegates overall, and 104 for Sanders, who has 1,198 overall.
Clinton on Tuesday night reflected on the kickoff of her historic White House bid a year ago on Roosevelt Island and declared that now “the race for the Democratic nomination is in the home stretch and victory is in sight.”
With an eye to the future, the former first lady also reached out to those who have backed the Vermont senator.
“To all who supported Senator Sanders, I believe there is much more that unites us than divides us,” she said.
But Sanders, campaigning in Pennsylvania late Tuesday with New York well out of his reach, showed no signs of giving up.
“Thank you to all those who came out tonight in New York! Onward to five more states voting next week,” he tweeted, without mentioning Clinton.
With both rivals claiming home-state connections, the Clinton-Sanders New York battle was their fiercest yet.
Brooklyn-born Sanders stepped up his harsh criticism of Clinton, labeling her not “qualified” for the presidency because of her ties to Wall Street and super PACs.
Meanwhile, Clinton, the former New York senator who lives in Westchester, hit Sanders as a stooge for the gun lobby and unprepared to implement any of his ideas, such as breaking up the big banks.
Exit polls showed voters trusted Clinton by a wide margin to enact gun policy, while Sanders had a strong edge among voters who think Wall Street hurts the economy.
Clinton retained her advantage among women and nonwhite voters, winning three-quarters of the black vote and a majority of Latinos.
Sanders again won white men and more than 7 in 10 voters under the age of 30.
Earlier, Sanders tried to spin what he hoped would be only a narrow defeat as a victory.
“If she comes out here with a single-digit win, my God that’s an embarrassment,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told The Hill.
Sanders pumped more than $6.8 million into New York TV and radio ads, according to the Center for Public Integrity — $3 million more than Clinton.