MD Democratic Primary Results: Clinton Projected Winner

Hillary Clinton is projected to win the Maryland Democratic Presidential Primary, according to the Associated Press.

After a double-digit win in New York last week, Clinton had been looking for victories in Maryland and four other East Coast states to cement her prospects for the nomination.

As of 10:30 p.m., Clinton had 63.4 percent of the vote in Maryland — her widest margin of the night.

Clinton was the projected winner in three other states, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Delaware. Sanders was projected to win Rhode Island.

As she did in New York a week ago, Clinton focused her comments Tuesday on divisive comments from Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

"We still believe in the goodness of our people and the greatness of our nation," Clinton told a crowd of supporters in Philadelphia.

She noted that Democrats can find consensus on most issues: higher wages, college affordable to all, quality health care everyone can afford, keeping troops out of needless conflicts, clean energy, and defending all rights -- civil, voting, women’s, LGBT and disability rights.

“Whether you support Sen. Sanders or support me, there’s much more that unites us than divides us," Clinton said.

Clearly knocked on his heels after campaigning heavily in New York, Bernie Sanders was looking for results out of Tuesday that would justify continuing his campaign toward big contests in California and New Jersey in June.

Speaking soon after polls closed, Sanders wasn't throwing in the towel. With supporters in Huntington, W. Va., Sanders sounded a familiar argument that he is the best person for the Democratic Party to run against Donald Trump.

"What we are seeing are national polls that show us 15-20 points ahead of Donald Trump, far more than Secretary Clinton," he said.

And while Sanders only won Rhode Island on Tuesday, he said, "We are in this race until the last vote is cast."

He vowed to campaign at the Democratic national convention for a $15 an hour minimum wage, free college tuition, end to oil fracking, Wall Street reforms and more.

Check back on this page for primary results, expected to begin arriving after 9 p.m.

Howard County resident Daniel Wise said he voted with his head rather than his heart.

“I’m torn,” Wise, a Democrat, told Patch. “I like the idea of Bernie Sanders.” Sanders’ views on working wage and income inequality were draws, he said.

But as he got ready to put on his helmet and bike home from the Ellicott City Senior Center after casting his vote, Wise said: “I didn’t vote with my heart. I voted with logic.”

He said he cast his ballot for Clinton because that was the logical thing to do, stating: “[Sanders] added a lot to the race this year. Maybe the fact that he has a lot of supporters says something.”

Previous reporting

Working against Sanders in Maryland: demographics more in line with states that have supported his challenger and a primary election that only includes registered Democrats.

Nearly 189,000 Democrats have already voted during the state's early-voting period, according to Maryland voting records. On Election Day, voters will will manually make their selections on paper ballots and feed the marked ballots into a digital scanner.

There are 95 pledged delegates up for grabs in Maryland, and the state party here awards delegates proportionally based on the results.

Polling Suggests Clinton Victory

Primary races for open seats in Congress and the Senate will be closely watched in the state, but Clinton appears clearly ahead in poll after poll in Maryland.

According to Real Clear Politics, polls of Maryland Democrats done in the past month show Clinton holding on to her sizable lead: 57 percent to 35 percent.

Part of that is because of who is voting in Maryland, says Darlene Antezana, a Clinton supporter and the chair of the History, Political Science, Geography and Anthropology Department at Prince George’s Community College.

Large populations in D.C. suburbs will be turning out, including Prince George's County, which is majority African-American. Montgomery County voters will include many government workers and contractors and a growing Hispanic population. All of these groups have helped Clinton win other states in the primary process.

Like New York, Sanders' best chance for support will likely come from rural counties, according to Antezana says.

Images via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons