NY polls close with Dem race too close to call

by Jonathan Easley - 04/19/16 9:02 PM ET

The Democratic presidential primary in New York between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is still too close to call.

Polls closed at 9 p.m. EDT, with Clinton seeking to beat back a spirited challenge from Sanders in her home state.

{mosads}New York has 247 pledged delegates up for grabs. Clinton entered Tuesday with a lead of 244 pledged delegates.

Exit polling from ABC News and CNN showed that minorities made up nearly four in 10 voters, with Clinton winning more than 70 percent of the black vote and a majority of the Latino vote, while 54 percent of white voters backed Sanders.

Polls showed Clinton leading by double-digits heading into Election Day, but Sanders has been attracting tens of thousands of supporters at rallies and ramping up his attacks against the front-runner.

Sanders has questioned Clinton’s judgment and pilloried her for not releasing the transcripts of paid speeches she’s given to big banks. On Monday, the Sanders campaign accused the former first lady of illegally colluding with the Democratic National Committee in joint fundraising efforts.

Clinton hit back, accusing Sanders of being weak on abortion and gun control.

The back-and-forth has many Democrats fretting that the campaigns have gone off the rails and risk damaging the eventual nominee in the general election.

A victory by Sanders would be an election-altering upset, although he may be hampered in his efforts by New York’s closed primary.

Sanders has relied heavily on young voters and independents, but the deadline to change party registration to become a Democrat in New York was in October.

— This post was updated at 9:31 p.m.

Tags Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton New York