National

Bernie Sanders says he must win half of remaining delegates

(Krystal Vivian/95.3 MNC)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the 2016 presidential race on the eve of Indiana’s primary (all times EDT):

12:30 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says Indiana’s primary on Tuesday will be important to his goal of amassing as many delegates as possible to catch up with rival Hillary Clinton.

And he’s acknowledging that’s a big challenge. In Evansville, Indiana, Sanders is telling supporters that with 10 states left, his campaign needs to earn more than 50 percent of the remaining delegates up for grabs. The Vermont senator says he will “fight as hard as we can for every vote.”

Sanders says he has won 45 percent of the pledged delegates awarded so far but only about 7 percent of the superdelegates — the party leaders who can vote for either Democratic candidate but are overwhelmingly committed to Clinton. Sanders says his campaign has been winning among voters 45 years of age and younger, showing that his ideas are “the ideas for the future of this country.”

10:45 a.m.

Ted Cruz is calling the Indiana primary “neck and neck” and says he’ll stay in the Republican presidential race for as long as he has a “viable path to victory.”

He spoke to reporters after greeting hundreds of people in northern Indiana at a popular breakfast stop a day before the state’s crucial primary.

Cruz is framing a potential fall election match-up between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the choice between two “big government, New York liberals.”

And he has been trying to rally the politically diverse, working-class swath of voters in northern Indiana, where the industrial economy remains viable but union jobs have declined in recent decades.

10 a.m.

Ted Cruz is blitzing through Indiana in a make-or-break moment for his slumping Republican presidential campaign.

A victory for Donald Trump in Indiana on Tuesday would be a dispiriting blow for Cruz and other forces trying to stop the front-runner, leaving them with few opportunities to block his path.

Trump is the only candidate in the race who can reach the 1,237 delegates needed for the GOP nomination through regular voting, though Cruz is trying to push the race toward a contested convention.

Cruz is holding five events across Indiana on Monday. Trump is holding a pair of rallies in the state. He’s already confidently looking past Cruz and engaging the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

9:20 a.m.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign says she raised about $26 million in April for her primary race against Bernie Sanders, as her rival’s fundraising juggernaut slowed.

Sanders’ take for April was a little under Clinton’s, marking a steep decline from the $46 million he raised in March. He did not report how much money he has on hand, raising questions about whether he can sustain his long-robust online fundraising as his path to the nomination narrows.

Clinton’s campaign says she has $30 million in the bank heading into May. She had about $29 million at the start of last month.

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