Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton score big wins in New York primary

Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton scored sweeping victories in nominating contests in their home state of New York, and immediately began arguing that they are all but unstoppable as their respective parties’ presidential nominees.

Mr Trump’s crushing defeat of Ted Cruz in Tuesday’s primary election tilted the energy in the Republican race back to the frontrunner, just as Republican National Committee members begin meeting in Florida on Wednesday to discuss their July convention, where the nominee will be chosen.

For the Democratic favourite, Ms Clinton’s more narrow victory over Bernie Sanders snapped a string of victories by the 74-year-old democratic socialist and gave her a much-needed lift with more tough fights ahead.

Mr Trump’s win, celebrated to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York at Trump Tower in Manhattan, marked a rebound from his Wisconsin defeat two weeks ago. It set him up for another big night on April 26, when Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Maryland will hold primaries.

“We don’t have much of a race anymore based on what I’m seeing on television,” Mr Trump said as television networks projected a large margin of victory for him. “Senator Cruz is just about mathematically eliminated.”

Mr Trump, 69, predicted some “amazing weeks” ahead for his campaign.

Still, he has a long way to go to seal the nomination and begin trying to heal the wounds in his bitterly divided party. Some fence-mending may happen when he sends campaign advisers to the RNC meeting starting in Hollywood, Florida, on Wednesday.

Mr Cruz came in third in New York, behind Ohio governor John Kasich, and gave his primary night speech in Philadelphia, where he was already focused on running in Pennsylvania. He called on Republicans to unite around his candidacy.

Mr Kasich, 63, a long-shot candidate, is seeking to use his second-place showing in New York as proof that he is emerging as Mr Trump’s central challenger in the states that come up next on the calendar.

Ms Clinton got nowhere near the knockout punch she needed to finally put Mr Sanders away.

“Today you proved once again there’s no place like home,” Ms Clinton said, adding, “This one was personal.”

The race for the Democratic nomination, she said, is now in “the home stretch, and victory is in sight.”

Ms Clinton’s win made it nearly impossible for Mr Sanders to overtake her commanding lead in the number of delegates needed to win the nomination.