Donald Trump Moves Closer To GOP Nomination With Washington Victory; Clinton Wins But No Delegates At Stake

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton have both won Tuesday’s primaries in Washington state.

With over 69 percent of the votes counted, Trump — the only Republican presidential candidate remaining on the field — has clinched the support of 76 percent of the delegates. The victory puts him on the cusp of securing the party’s nomination at the GOP national convention in July.

According to an Associated Press tally, Trump won 27 delegates Tuesday. He now has the support of 1,196 delegates — just 41 short of the 1,237 votes needed to clinch the nomination — and is also expected to win a majority of the 303 delegates at stake in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota in June.

However, the news of Trump’s victory was overshadowed to a certain extent by violent protests that broke out at a rally in New Mexico Tuesday night. Anti-Trump protesters reportedly clashed with private security guards and police officers, following which dozens were escorted out of the Albuquerque Convention Centre.

Meanwhile, for Clinton, Tuesday’s primary was more like a popularity contest as there were no delegates at stake. Her rival, Bernie Sanders, had already won the state’s caucus on March 26, securing the support of 74 delegates.

However, Clinton, who got 27, is now just 78 delegates short of the 2,383 required to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

Including superdelegate endorsements, Clinton has 2,305 delegates while Sanders has 1,539.