Clinton at the Get Out the Vote rally. (Getty)
It’s been a long campaign, but after months of being the presumed frontrunner, The Associated Press is reporting that Hillary Clinton, tonight, reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.
BREAKING: @AP finds Clinton reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination for president
Associated Press’s count of pledged delegates – as well as superdelegates – that Clinton has won throughout her campaign puts her at the necessary 2,383 delegates needed. She would be the first woman to ever be a party’s confirmed Presidential candidate in U.S. history. This news comes just a couple of weeks after Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination.
The key is superdelegates. Clinton has 1,812 confirmed delegates from previous primaries and caucuses. But AP counts 571 superdelegates, more than enough.
Tomorrow is the primary in New Jersey and California. Clinton leads polling in each state, though moreso in New Jersey – Sanders was looking to upset in CA. Many expected that it would be then, not tonight, that Clinton secured the nomination. President Obama, according to the New York Times, plans on endorsing and campaigning on Clinton’s behalf. Clinton had become such a lock for the nomination that her attentions had turned away from Bernie Sanders and shifted to Donald Trump.
Even with this, it’s almost a guarantee that Sanders will continue to campaign, as Sanders has stated it would be too soon to end the campaign, considering those superdelegates don’t officially vote until July.
Should the numbers hold, Clinton will formally accept this nomination at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Update: AP has tweeted Clinton’s comments on the matter.
