Hillary Clinton is the projected winner in the Florida Democratic primary according to CNN and NBC.
Even though the Democratic primary is not a winner-take-all contest like it is on the Republican side in Florida, a victory in a major swing state gives Clinton momentum after a surprising loss in Michigan last week.
Heading into the primary Tuesday, polls showed Clinton with a decisive lead over the Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). According to the TPM PollTracker Average, Clinton led Sanders by 23 points.
Clinton’s win in Florida is expected to help the former secretary of state get back on track in a campaign where she is the clear frontrunner, but has struggled to put Sanders away. For every day Clinton is still competing against a primary challenger, she is held back from prepping for the general election.
Florida is a diverse state. According to Five Thirty Eight, only a little more than 60 percent of Democratic primary voters were white in 2008. The competition for Latino voters in the state has driven both Clinton and Sanders to adopt very liberal immigration policies. During a debate in Miami last week hosted by Univision, both candidates sought to get to the left of one another. In a question on deporting children, Clinton promised not to deport children or other immigrants without criminal records.
“Of the undocumented people living in our country, I do not want to see them deported. I want to see them on a path to citizenship. That’s is exactly what I will do,” Clinton said.
