Front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton swept to victory with ease in the New York presidential primaries.

Trump’s victory was a psychological boost for his campaign. He captured more than 50 per cent of the vote in New York and was headed toward a big delegate haul in his home state, a commanding showing that keeps him on a path to the Republican nomination if he continues to win.

He claimed at least half of the 95 delegates at stake, and was likely to add to his tally in individual congressional districts.

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“We don’t have much of a race anymore,” he said during a victory rally in the lobby of the Manhattan tower bearing his name.

Clinton’s triumph padded her delegate lead over rival Bernie Sanders, depriving him of a crucial opportunity to narrow the margin.

Sanders vowed to compete through all of the voting contests, though his odds of overtaking Clinton at this stage in the race are low.

“The race for the nomination is in the home stretch, and victory is in sight,” Clinton declared to cheering supporters.

With 247 delegates at stake, Clinton picked up at least 104 while Sanders gained at least 85. Many remained to be allocated, pending final vote tallies.

“We’ve got a shot to victory,” Sanders said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We have come a very long way in the last 11 months, and we are going to fight this out until the end of the process.”

Overall, Trump leads the Republican race with 804 delegates, ahead of Senator Ted Cruz with 559 and Ohio Governor John Kasich with 144. Securing the Republican nomination requires 1,237.

Among Democrats, Clinton has 1862 delegates to Senator Bernie Sanders’ 1161.

Those totals include both pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses and superdelegates, the party insiders who can back the candidate of their choice regardless of how their state votes. It takes 2,383 to win the Democratic nomination.

Sanders spent Tuesday in Pennsylvania, as did Trump’s main rival Cruz. The Texas senator panned Trump’s win as little more than “a politician winning his home state,” then implored Republicans to unite around his candidacy.

“We must unite the Republican Party because doing so is the first step in uniting all Americans,” Cruz said.

The fight for New York’s delegate haul consumed the presidential contenders for two weeks, an eternity in the fast-moving White House race. Candidates blanketed every corner of New York, bidding for votes from Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs to the working class cities and rural enclaves that dot the rest of the state.

Trump needed a strong showing to keep alive his chances of clinching the Republican nomination before the party’s July convention – and to quiet critics who say the long primary season has exposed big deficiencies in his campaign effort.

Thank you New York! I love you!#MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016 pic.twitter.com/T1J0aUwMXl

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2016

Thank you, New York. You put your faith in me 16 years ago and again tonight. I’ll never stop fighting for you. -H pic.twitter.com/Tqp8lCYhvq

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 20, 2016

Frank Sintara’s “New York New York” playing as Trump takes the stage after his huge victory in, yep, you guessed it, New York #Election2016

— Roscoe Whalan (@RoscoeWhalan) April 20, 2016