Joe Biden wins New York and Kentucky primaries
CBS News projects Joe Biden is the winner of Tuesday's primaries in New York and Kentucky. CBS News estimates that as of Tuesday night, he now has 2,304 delegates, having surpassed the 1,991 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination earlier this month.
Although Biden has been the only candidate in the race since Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign on April 8, Sanders remains on the ballot. Sanders, who is originally from Brooklyn, has a strong base of support in New York and held a campaign launch event in Brooklyn.
At the height of the coronavirus outbreak, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo postponed the state's scheduled April 28 primary to June 23. After Sanders suspended his campaign, the Board of Elections moved to cancel the primary altogether, but was met with opposition from Sanders and Andrew Yang's campaigns.
After a legal challenge filed by Yang and a group of delegates aiming to reverse the cancellation, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled on May 6 that the cancellation was unconstitutional.
"If all but one of the presidential candidates are removed from the ballot and the primary is not held, Delegate Plaintiffs will be deprived of the opportunity to compete for delegate slots and shape the course of events at the Convention, and voters will lose the chance to express their support for delegates who share their views," Torres wrote in her ruling, adding, "The loss of these First Amendment rights is a heavy hardship."
There are several closely-watched House primaries happening in New York, including progressive Jamaal Bowman's challenge to 31-year incumbent Eliot Engel in the northern Bronx and Westchester county and a 12-person race for the open seat in the 15th congressional district, the bluest and poorest congressional district in the country.
Nicole Sganga and Eleanor Watson contributed reporting.
