Hillary Clinton paused in a day of frenetic campaigning in California to reflect on the possibility that on Tuesday, she is likely to make history as the first female nominee of a major political party in the United States.
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Clinton and her supporters said that a win in California is more than about delegates: She is expected to clinch the nomination Tuesday without them. She has a 27 point lead in New Jersey where 142 delegates are at stake.
The former secretary of state, NY senator and first lady reached the 2,383 delegates needed to become the presumptive Democratic nominee on Monday with a decisive weekend victory in Puerto Rico and a burst of last-minute support from superdelegates.
After staying above the campaign fray for months, US President Barack Obama could endorse Hillary Clinton as early as this week as the Democratic presidential nominee, nudging Bernie Sanders to finally abandon his long-fought challenge, USA media reported on Monday.
According to the Associated Press, Clinton is 23 delegates short of the required 2,383 delegate mark. I have reports that the media, after the New Jersey results come in, are going to declare that it is all over. “We have six elections tomorrow and we’re going to fight hard for every single vote, especially right here in California”.
Neither candidate campaigned extensively in Puerto Rico, instead they are focusing more on resources and campaign events in California with its 546 delegates. With Lopez’s endorsement, all seven of Puerto Rico’s superdelegates have pledged their support for Clinton.
Campaigning this time as the loyal successor to the nation’s first black president, Mrs Clinton held off a surprisingly strong challenge from Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.
Campaigning in California, Clinton, the former secretary of State, told reporters she is pleased with the prospect of Obama’s support. He said during an evening rally in San Diego that Democratic leaders should take notice that the “energy and grassroots activism” that will be crucial to the party in the fall “is with us, not Hillary Clinton”.
In a statement Tuesday night, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs reiterated that message, saying “Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination”. He will need to prevent Clinton from reaching the 2,383 threshold for pledged delegates by then end of the primaries and then sway Clinton superdelegates to his side before the Democratic Party’s convention.
Obama is expected to travel to NY on Wednesday to speak at two Democratic fundraisers, which will take place after California and five other states hold primaries on Tuesday. “Growing up in that 60s era, there are many things he says that appeal to me”. “And we will come together and be prepared to go to the convention in a unified way”.
She has lessened her attacks on Mr Sanders in recent weeks, however, and is now focused on Mr Trump. While he has made remarks indicating a preference for Clinton, Obama has so far avoided a clear endorsement.
That doesn’t mean they are happy about that outcome – many remain unreconciled. It is critical, they said, to move toward unity ahead of a general election against Donald Trump.
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A Sanders victory there could embolden his supporters to urge him to wage a fractious convention fight.
