The Associated Press declared Clinton the winner less than 30 minutes after early balloting results were released.
Sanders, meanwhile, prevailed in caucuses in Utah and Idaho, according to the Associated Press and other news organizations. The Vermont senator's wins there were by large margins, positioning him to win sizable delegate majorities in both states.
Sanders invested significant money and time in Arizona, however, appearing in Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tucson at five thunderous rallies largely dominated by the young voters who have flocked to hear his “political revolution” message.
"Thank you, Arizona," Clinton tweeted, with a photo of her at rally Monday in Phoenix.
Speaking in Seattle later in the evening, Clinton said: “We are determined that we’re going to give back the hope that every American should have — that their hard work will get them ahead, will enable them to have a better future.”
“That’s what we want for America," she said.
Addressing supporters in San Diego, Sanders cited "record-breaking turnouts" in states that held contests Tuesday and said his campaign appealed to voters because “we are telling the truth.”
“We cannot go forward as a nation unless we are prepared to confront the real issues facing our country,"
Seventy-five of Arizona’s 85 Democratic National Convention delegates will be proportionally distributed based on the statewide vote and the vote in each of the state’s nine congressional districts. The other 10 “superdelegates” are party leaders and elected officials. In Utah, 33 delegates will be apportioned proportionally based on the results of Tuesday's caucus.
Twenty-three delegates were at stake in Idaho's caucuses.
Clinton campaigned in Phoenix on Monday, highlighting her plans for the economy, college affordability and immigration reform. Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, who carried the state 20 years ago, also stumped in Phoenix for his wife.
“She won in 2008 and she already has had broad appeal in Arizona, and the Democratic demographics trend well for her,” particularly with minorities and older voters, said Republican strategist Garrett Archer. “This state is literally tailor-made for her as a bellwether state. It’s not a Southern state, it’s not a Vermont or a Minnesota with a high population of college students.”
Jacqueline DeLacruz said she voted for Clinton because of her experience and her ability to intelligently address complex domestic and foreign policy issues.
“Hillary will be able to pull off a campaign we can all be proud of,” said DeLacruz, 53, who cast her vote Monday at the Queen Creek Public Library polling station.
Tom Gagen, an 66-year-old independent from Scottsdale, said he voted for Clinton because of her experience. Despite her "shortcomings," she would have the best chance to get the Democratic and Republican parties to work with each other for the betterment of the nation, he said.
"My vote is as much a vote against the GOP as it is for Hillary," Gagen wrote in an
Todd Morgan, 35, said the Democratic choices were "far superior" than the Republican field. He said he voted for Clinton because she "had more foreign policy experience and a more measured and reasonable approach to domestic policy.
"In short, I appreciate Sen. Sanders, but his ideas are just too extreme."
Sanders has attacked wealth inequality, saying the top 1% of Americans have nearly as much money as the bottom 90%. He strikes at the billionaire Koch brothers, who are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to influence elections, saying its despicable they — and other wealthy donors — have so much control over the nation's political system.
The self-described democratic socialist's campaign pitch connected with Joshua Hart, 20. He waited in a long line that snaked around the Church of the Beatitudes in north-central Phoenix. He voted for Sanders, saying he speaks to issues he most cares about: distribution of wealth and income inequalities in the workplace.
“You have clear separation between the higher class and lower class,” Hart said. “I’d like to see them closer together.”
He added that Sanders’ sincerity as a candidate appealed to him, saying, “Honesty should be our most sought-after factor when looking for the next United States candidate.”
If Clinton is the party's nominee, Hart said, he'd hold his nose and support her, but he is unhappy with controversies surrounding her, namely the loss of American lives in Benghazi, Libya, when Clinton was secretary of State.
Sandra Hernandez was more conflicted about her vote for Clinton.
She stood in line to vote for a half hour at Maryvale Church of the Nazarene in west Phoenix. Hernandez, 48, said Clinton’s foreign policy credentials won her over in the end, even though she also likes Sanders. If more states had “felt the Bern” this primary election, she might’ve gone with Sanders, she said.
“I love him,” Hernandez said. “But right now, I’m being a little realistic. If he was up there and kept winning state after state, my vote would’ve been for him."
Contributing: Robert Anglen and Ricardo Cano, The Arizona Republic; Cooper Allen, USA TODAY
