Decisive wins move Trump and Clinton closer to nominations

Hillary Clinton celebrates her victory in New York. Picture: AP

Trump captured more than 50 per cent of the vote in New York on Tuesday and was headed toward a big delegate haul in his home state, a commanding showing that keeps him on a path to the Republican nomination if he continues to win. He claimed at least 89 of the 95 delegates at stake.

A confident Mr Trump insisted it was impossible for his rivals to catch him. Indeed, Senator Ted Cruz’s poor showing in New York left him without any mathematical chance of clinching the nomination before the Republican convention in July, though Mr Trump could still end up short of the needed 1,237 needed to seal victory before the gathering.

“We don’t have much of a race anymore,” he said during a victory rally in the lobby of the Manhattan tower bearing his name. He peppered his remarks with more references to the economy and other policy proposals than normal, reflecting the influence of a new team of advisers.

Trump now leads the Republican race with 845 delegates, ahead of Mr Cruz with 559 and Ohio governor John Kasich with 147. Mrs Clinton’s triumph padded her delegate lead over rival Bernie Sanders and strengthened her claim to the Democratic nomination that eluded her eight years ago.

In a shift toward the general election, she made a direct appeal to Mr Sanders’ loyal supporters, telling them she believes “there is more that unites us than divides us.”

Among Democrats, Mrs Clinton now has 1,930 delegates to Mr Sanders’ 1,189. Those totals include both pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses and superdelegates, the party insiders who can back the candidate of their choice regardless of how their state votes. It takes 2,383 to win the Democratic nomination.