The Associated Press broke the political newswires with a tweet calling Hillary Clinton the Democratic nominee after tallying up the delegates and finding that the former first lady has enough to win the nomination. The AP reached its determination by talking to the party insiders known as superdelegates who had not previously pledged their support to Clinton.
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For that reason Mr Sanders is still refusing to pull out of the race, even after Mrs Clinton reaches the magic number after voting in a handful of states including delegate-rich California tomorrow (Australian time).
Superdelegates will not formally cast their votes for Mrs Clinton until the party’s July convention in Philadelphia.
The AP surveys the superdelegates throughout the primary season, over months and months, to track whom they plan to support at the July convention.
Sanders also faced new questions about the future of his campaign amid reports that President Barack Obama was readying an endorsement of Clinton. But superdelegates have so far never changed the outcome of a presidential nomination.
Since Democrats award their delegates proportionally, Clinton would need less than one-quarter of the vote to pick up those 26 delegates in a state where polls show her winning by double digits.
Of the 4,765 total delegates to the Democratic National Convention, 714 are superdelegates.
“Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination”. With the results of Puerto Rico, it is no longer possible for her primary opponent, Sen.
The polls will open across New Jersey at 6 a.m., Tuesday and stay open until 8 p.m. You must be registered to vote.
Of the four opponents who did take her on, Sanders was the only one who emerged to provide a serious challenge. She won overwhelming support from women and minorities, catapulting her to decisive victories in diverse, delegate-rich states such as NY and Texas. “The problem is that I think Republicans would really unify… even more against him”. Trump has pounced on Clinton’s struggle to put away Sanders, and Democrats are anxious that the liberals, millennials and party newcomers who have flocked to Sanders won’t stick with Clinton.
Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesDemocratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton looks on during a campaign rally at Hartnell College on May 25, 2016 in Salinas, California.
The White House, however, is going to wait at least another 48 hours before making any official statements about the race.
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Mr Sanders has campaigned intensively in California for more than two weeks, blanketing the state with rallies and events in 34 cities aimed at talking directly to thousands of voters at a time. “And I believe that his words and his deeds disqualify him from being president of the United States”.
