By Michael Sol Warren
BU News Service
A win is a win, so don’t tell Bernie Sanders and Marco Rubio that Maine and Puerto Rico are minor elections.
Sanders, the Senator from Vermont, won the Maine Democratic caucus. He beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by a nearly two-to-one margin and picked up 14 delegates to Clinton’s six.
Clinton now leads the Democratic race with 667 delegates*. Sanders follows in second with 463 delegates. A candidate needs to win a total of 2,383 delegates in order to win the Democratic nomination.
Rubio, the Senator from Florida won the Puerto Rico Republican primary in dominating fashion, winning 71 percent of the vote and picking up all 23 delegates. New York businessman Donald Trump was second in Puerto Rico with 13 percent of the vote.
Trump currently leads the Republican race with 391 delegates. Texas Senator Ted Cruz is second with 304 delegates. Rubio is third with 154 delegates. Ohio Governor John Kasich is fourth with 37 delegates.
The next round of elections is on Tuesday. Both parties will contest Michigan and Mississippi. The Republicans will also hold elections in Idaho and caucuses in Hawai’i.
*Delegate numbers in this article refer to pledged delegates. Unpledged “superdelegates” are not included because they are uncommitted and can change their vote at any point before the party convention.
