Hillary Clinton has reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination, according to tallies on Monday by two U.S. media outlets, the day before six states were set to vote in nominating contests.
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However, on Monday night, the AP reported that its count of delegates won in the primary plus “party insiders known as superdelegates” showed that Clinton already has the numbers to win the nomination.
California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota all hold primaries Tuesday, and North Dakota holds a caucus. Then, she will head to Leimert Park Village Plaza for another rally at 3 p.m., followed by an event at Long Beach Community College at 6 p.m.
“We’re going to fight hard for every single vote”, Clinton declared. Two other Democratic sources, meanwhile, said the President is poised to deliver his endorsement of Clinton as early as this week.
Clinton edged to the brink of the nomination Sunday when she won the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. This cuts against conventional wisdom, at least in the case of the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, where it would be reasonable to expect support would be taken away from the Republican side.
Sanders immediately responded, insisting no Democrat will lock in the nomination until the Democratic national convention in July because unbound super-delegates can not vote until then.
The former secretary of state on Tuesday is expected to become the first female presumptive nominee of a major party – a feat that will likely raise pressure on Sanders to drop his bid quickly.
Eight years ago, of course, after Obama clinched the nomination, The New York Times splashed this headline on their front page: “Obama Clinches Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket”.
Clinton enters the general election boasting one of the most impressive resumes of any recent presidential hopeful.
It’s finally here: the last big primary night of the 2016 presidential race.
It could also help Trump argue that she is a weak candidate. “It means the world to me”, she said to a cheering throng at the college gymnasium.
The scandal over the private email server she used as secretary of state has renewed questions over her transparency and honesty that have swirled throughout her public life. And Republicans believe her foreign policy record, tainted by her dealings with Libya and Russian Federation while secretary of state, could turn into a huge opening for their candidate.
Glenda McCarthy, a 64-year-old from San Pedro, California, is among the loyal Clinton supporters who have longed for this milestone moment.
AP surveys the superdelegates throughout the primary season to track whom they planned to support at the July convention.
Trump blasted back on Sunday.
Superdelegates are unpledged delegates who get to act as free agents in the Democratic nomination process by choosing which candidate to support irrespective of any primary or caucus results. “It’s like an anointment”. Bernie Sanders’ insurgent campaign, Clinton feels confident about the contrast this message offers with likely Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has made disparaging comments about women. She energized Democrats with a blistering speech last week challenging Trump’s qualifications for the presidency, reassuring supporters that she’s prepared for a bruising campaign against the unpredictable businessman. Clinton once held a sizable lead there over Sanders, but opinion polls in recent days showed them in a dead heat.
Sanders’ tone was more subdued before reporters after saying over the weekend that the Democratic convention would be contested if no one wins the nomination based exclusively on delegates awarded in the primaries and caucuses.
Obama remains popular with many voters.
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Previous Democratic campaigns, including those of Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, mostly ignored the state, writing it off due to its solid history of voting for Republicans in presidential contests.
