Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton pulled off a major win in the state of Florida last night, especially in counties with significant Caribbean American population.
According to AP reports, Clinton won with 1,068,015 over challenger Bernie Sanders. The former Secretary of State, who had earlier this week established a Caribbean Leadership Council of state and local leaders in the Florida Diaspora, won considerably in the Caribbean populated counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Orange.
Clinton swept 246 delegates from the state to move her up to 1,488 overall delegates compared to Sanders’ 704.
She won 75 percent of the votes in Miami-Dade County compared to 24 percent for Sanders and 73 percent in Broward County compared to 26 percent for Sanders. Haitians and Jamaicans predominantly call Broward County and Miami-Dade County home.
Clinton also won over 71 percent of the votes in West Palm Beach compared to 27 percent for Sanders while she took 64 percent in Orange County in Central Florida compared to 35 for Sanders. There is an estimated 125,000 Caribbean Americans living in the Central Florida area today.
Advocates for the Clinton campaign in the run up to Tuesday’s Presidential Primary included state representatives Hazelle Rogers and Daphne Campbell, Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, and Miami Dade commission chairman Jean Monestime.
With some 85 percent of the 30,000 Caribbean-American voters registered as Democrat and 69 percent of Caribbeans calling the Sunshine state home, a survey ahead of the election conducted on behalf of National Weekly among Caribbean-Americans voters had showed a strong push for Clinton, with 62 percent supporting her, versus 30 percent for Sanders.
While exit polls do not break down the results by voters’ origins, the overall results reflected a similar trend as the survey predicted in Caribbean American populated areas.
“We are moving close to securing the Democratic Party nomination and winning this election in November,” Mrs. Clinton told cheering supporters in Florida Tuesday night.
She boasted that she has won more votes that any candidate in either party and put forth a hopeful message about the ability to tackle the nation’s problems, saying, “You voted for our tomorrow to be better than our yesterday.”
Clinton also won in North Carolina and Ohio. Illinois and Missouri were too close to call at press time last night and Senator Sanders was projected to possibly win there.
On the GOP side, Donald Trump swept the home state of Florida Senator Marco Rubio resulting in the Cuban American quitting the race. Trump also won in Illinois and North Carolina while John Kasich won his home state of Ohio.
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