In terms of numbers, Hillary Clinton’s victory over Bernie Sanders in the Washington Presidential Primary was pretty decisive.
In terms of impact, it may be less so.
With 53 percent of the Democratic votes and a lead of more than 43,000 ballots as of Wednesday evening, Clinton could point to the results to underscore her position as the Democratic frontrunner. But her campaign was not issuing victory statements and the Sanders campaign was ignoring the reversal from his showing in the March precinct caucuses, where he collected 72 percent of the support.
Travis Ridout, the Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Policy at WSU, agreed the shift in support is partly due to the difference between people willing to attend caucuses and a larger number more comfortable with voting. There may also be a question of timing, with the primary coming late in May, when Clinton is closing in on the nomination.
“Maybe the pragmatists marked their ballots for Hillary Clinton,” Ridout said.