Bernie Sanders overcame Hillary Clinton to win Tuesday’s tightly contested Democratic primary in Indiana.
“In primary after primary, caucus after caucus, we end up winning the vote of people 45 years of age and younger,” the Vermont senator said at his victory party in Louisville Tuesday night. “That is important because it tells me the ideas that we are fighting for are the ideas of the future of America and the future of the Democratic party.”
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Sanders trailed the former secretary of state by 6.8 percent before polls opened but would go on to earn 52.5 percent of the vote Tuesday night. (RELATED: Poll — Majority Of Dem. Voters Don’t Want Bernie To Drop Out)
His victory earned him 43 of the state’s 83 potential delegates.
Despite Tuesday’s results, Clinton still holds a commanding lead of Sanders in the delegate count, thanks in part to her 520 pledged superdelegates.
Currently, Sanders’ has 1,400 delegates and is still 983 short of earning the Democratic nomination.
Clinton only requires 181 more to send Sanders packing prior to the convention in July and remains focused on “focused on moving into the general election.”
“Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he’s too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta wrote in a Tuesday night statement. “While Donald Trump seeks to bully and divide Americans, Hillary Clinton will unite us to create an economy that works for everyone.”
Donald Trump handily won Indiana’s Republican primary, and Ted Cruz dropped out of the race shortly thereafter. (RELATED: Trump — ‘Lyin’ Ted … Should Drop Out’)