As the polls closed at 8 p.m. ET, all of the broadcast and cable news networks made four fast calls–declaring wins in four of the “Acela primary” states.
Network projections put Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut into Donald Trump‘s victory column on the Republican side, and gave Maryland to Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side.
By 8:10 p.m. ET, Bernie Sanders had already delivered his remarks in Huntington, West Virginia. Sanders said that he is the stronger candidate in a general election against Trump, despite a report earlier in the evening that he would “reassess” his campaign.
By 8:30 p.m. ET, Trump had taken Rhode Island, and then Delaware:
and @abc projects Trump wins DE too – that's a clean sweep. Five for five tonight.
— Rick Klein (@rickklein) April 27, 2016
.@chucktodd on MSNBC: "This is turning into Trump having not just a narrow path but a clear path to this nomination" https://t.co/WCquqpDtFw
— Erika Masonhall (@ErikaMasonhall) April 27, 2016
Clinton quickly followed with wins in Delaware, and then Pennsylvania.
From a prominent @HillaryClinton supporter seconds after CNN called PA. "Night's over. Primary's over."
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) April 27, 2016
Clinton, however, was denied a sweep when Sanders was projected the winner in Rhode Island. In her victory speech, Clinton pushed for unity in front of a cheering crowd:
Hillary Clinton walks out to "Eye of the Tiger" for speech in Philadelphia https://t.co/dez3hgV8kj #SuperTuesday https://t.co/InxY91jjAZ
— CNN (@CNN) April 27, 2016
Trump spoke at 10 p.m. ET, declaring himself the “presumptive nominee,” and at one point saying “I want to thank the media.” Trump’s victory speech was marred by audio problems for many…
WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE AUDIO?
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) April 27, 2016
— Philip Bump (@pbump) April 27, 2016
…and some unpleasant color for others:
As Trump spoke, networks made the final call–giving Clinton a victory over Sanders in Connecticut.