The five major presidential candidates have been campaigning hard in New York this past week, to try and score votes in this delegate-rich state. Ninety-five GOP delegates and 291 Democratic delegates are at stake in this critical primary. Sanders and Clinton have been crisscrossing the state all week, while Republican frontrunner Donald Trump still has yet to hold a major rally in his hometown of New York City – a tough place for many candidates to campaign. In this week’s wrap we take you through some of the ups and downs on the campaign trail, straight from the Big Apple.
Presidential candidates aren’t used to being ignored. They typically get a wealth of media attention and draw crowds eager to hear them speak. In New York City, that wasn’t the case for Ted Cruz. He was the closing speaker at a GOP gala this week, following speeches by Donald Trump and John Kasich. Maybe the crowd wasn’t in the right state of mind after hearing two speakers and likely consuming a fair bit of wine. But then again, Cruz was the candidate that decried New York values back in January in an effort to win votes in Iowa.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders expressed optimism for his campaign, as he drew more than 27,000 people to his rally in Washington Square Park. Along with his usual rhetoric aimed at wealthy campaign contributors, Sanders spoke of his Brooklyn roots and identified a key landmark (Stonewall Inn) in Greenwich Village as the birthplace of the gay rights movement. He also drew a comparison between himself and The Donald: “He wants to build walls, I want to build bridges,” said Sanders.
It was judgment vs. policy at the April 14 democratic presidential debate in Brooklyn. While Sanders questioned Clinton on some of her past votes and her campaign financing, the Democratic frontrunner was able to turn the offensive back on Sanders, questioning him on the specifics of his plans to break up big banks, among other things. One thing is certain for Clinton: although she holds a pretty wide lead in New York according to most polls, Sanders isn’t going away anytime soon. She is going to have to concentrate on defeating him first, before she can look to her Republican opponents.
Which candidate has brought their best game to the Big Apple? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Sam Bojarski is an associate at WordWrite Communications. He can be reached at sam.bojarski@wordwritepr.com.
