by Darren Janz Well, the final votes are (mostly) in, and we can now say with a sigh of relief that the 2016 presidential primary season is over. More than four months and one-hundred and thirteen primary contests from the Iowa caucuses in the beginning of February, both major party nominees have now been decided, and the general election season can begin to begin. Last night, primary results in five states (plus a caucus for the Democrats in North Dakota) confirmed that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be their respective parties' presidential nominees, with both the former Secretary of State and the billionaire businessman passing the delegate thresholds necessary to win the presidential nominations of the Democratic and Republican parties. While a substantial number of ballots in California are still being counted and the Democrats are waiting to hold District of Columbia primary on June 14, we now have a pretty good idea of what the final results on each side of the aisle will be. The following are the expected final primary maps for both parties, courtesy of Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: Results of the 2016 Democratic Primaries ✓ Hillary Clinton (D-NY) - 28 States; 55% Popular Vote Bernie Sanders (D-VT) - 22 States; 43% Popular Vote Results of the 2016 Republican Primaries ✓ Donald Trump (R-NY) - 36 States; 45% Popular Vote Ted Cruz (R-TX) - 10 States; 25% Popular Vote John Kasich (R-OH) - 1 State; 14% Popular Vote Marco Rubio (R-FL) - 1 State; 11% Popular Vote *Note: Colorado and North Dakota did not hold Republican primary elections, choosing instead to allocate their delegates by convention. Electoral trends for both the Democrat and Republican primary electorates appear to be clear on the final maps, with both Clinton and Trump taking advantage of major demographics in their respective parties in order to maximize their voter bases.
On the Democratic side, Clinton's strong support from minority communities was key to many of her primary wins, with minority electorates in the southeast and southwest propelling her to victory in many of those regions' states - especially in the Deep South, where Clinton won every state with over 70% of the vote due to strong turnout from the African-American community. Clinton also performed well in diverse urban centers across the nation, with convincing margins in cities like Chicago, Columbus, Philidelphia, New York City, and Boston being key to success in a number of states in the Northeast and Midwest. Sanders, meanwhile, prospered predominantly in rural areas in New England and the Northwest, as well as in most of the upper Midwest, where disenfranchised blue-collar workers were largely predisposed to his message of economic reform. Meanwhile, Trump's most noticeable primary victories (apart from those that occurred after the withdrawal of his main primary opponents) were seen throughout his Northeastern base, with overwhelming victories in states like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and his home state of New York aiding him in building an increasingly dominant delegate lead throughout the primary season. Support for Cruz, on the other hand, was most prolific in many of the Western states, where Trump's style and proposals were less likely to resonate with voters. The only two states to be won by neither Trump nor Cruz were Minnesota and Ohio, with the moderate North Star State voting for Marco Rubio in an apparent rebuke against his more extreme opponents, and the more traditional Buckeye State voting for John Kasich, its favorite son. Overall, the 2016 presidential primary season was sure to be one for the books, with Democrats selecting the first female major-party presidential nominee in the United States and Republicans going against the grain to nominate an undeniably revolutionary candidate in what will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest upsets in American political history. Next up, as the Democratic and Republican National Conventions near, we'll be taking a look at each party's potential vice presidential nominees, as well as potential general election strategies that will inevitably result in either Trump or Clinton taking the White House this November.
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