Hillary Clinton has won Massachusetts, dealing a major blow to to rival Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had hoped for a victory in his neighboring state.
There was a real fight for the Democratic primary win in the liberal bastion. Clinton lost Massachusetts to Barack Obama in 2008. Sanders has galvanized a lot of progressives who wanted Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warrren to run for president.
Yet when the votes were tallied, Clinton took 50.3 percent to Sanders’ 48.5 percent. Sanders won 65 percent of voters between ages 18 to 29 and 71 percent of those aged 18 to 24, but 57 percent of the Massachusetts Democratic voters were 45 and older. These Democrats went heavily for Clinton.
Sanders was not expected to do well in the Southern states voting on Tuesday, so he needed to perform well in places like Massachusetts to prevent the Democratic presidential race from becoming a Clinton coronation.
New England has been the Vermont senator’s stronghold. He scored a 22-point victory over Clinton in New Hampshire and also easily won his home state Tuesday night.
Losing Massachusetts left Sanders with fewer than five wins on the night and gave Clinton a win outside the South.
