Washington: Hillary Clinton has reached the number of delegates needed to become the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president, the Associated Press said today, putting her on course to become first woman to top the presidential ticket of a major U.S. political party.
Clinton's rise to presumptive nominee arrived nearly eight years to the day after she conceded her first White House campaign to Barack Obama. Back then, she famously noted her inability to "shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling."
However, Clinton asked the news Agency not to reach at a conclusion so early adding that they are yet to win primaries for which voting is tomorrow.
Lifted by a big win in Puerto Rico and a burst of late support from Democratic superdelegates, Hillary Clinton has commitments from the number of delegates needed to become the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president.
She reached the required 2,383 delegates on Monday, according to an Associated Press count.
Here's a look at the count and how the AP determined Clinton has enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee, besting her primary rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
What's the count
In the primary elections and caucuses, Clinton has won 1,812 pledged delegates. Sanders has won 1,521. That gives her a lead of 291.
That is far more than the 131-delegate lead that then-Sen. Barack Obama held over Clinton when he clinched the Democratic nomination on June 4, 2008.
Among superdelegates, Clinton has the support of 571. Sanders has the backing of 48. That gives Clinton a lead of 523 superdelegates.
Overall, Clinton has 2,383 delegates, Sanders 1,569.
What comes next?
Two days of election contests remain. On Tuesday, voters in six states — California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota — head to the polls, with 694 delegates up for grabs. The Washington, D.C., primary is a week later, with 26 delegates at stake.
Even if Clinton were to lose all the remaining contests, she would continue to comfortably pad her delegate lead above the 2,383 threshold. That's because Democrats award pledged delegates in proportion to the vote, so even the loser gets some.
Sanders, meanwhile, would need to win 814 delegates to reach 2,383. That's no longer possible — only 813 pledged delegates and uncommitted superdelegates remain.
How AP counts superdelegates
Of the 4,765 total delegates to the Democratic National Convention, 714 are superdelegates. They are all party officials, governors and members of Congress who may vote for the candidate of their choice, regardless of the outcome in their state's primary or caucus.
The AP surveys the superdelegates throughout the primary season to track whom they plan to support at the July convention.
If a superdelegate tells the AP he or she plans to unequivocally support a candidate at the convention, that's added to the candidate's tally.
Those who decline to answer, say they have yet to make a decision or express any reservations are listed as uncommitted.
Why count superdelegate votes?
Sanders argues superdelegates should not be counted, since they don't formally cast their votes until the national convention. He intends to win over those who back Clinton by making the case before the party meets in Philadelphia that he would be a stronger general election candidate against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
But in the AP's survey, which began in late 2015, no superdelegate has flipped support from Clinton to Sanders. None has suggested that could happen.
Since their creation in 1982, superdelegates have rarely strayed from their original endorsements — unless there is a change in the pledged delegate tally. In 2008, some superdelegates flipped from Clinton to Obama after he overcame her early lead in pledged delegates.
The majority of superdelegates have always sided with the winner of the most pledged delegates, which in this election is Clinton.
The Sanders campaign acknowledges it is unlikely he can switch enough superdelegates from Clinton to overtake her lead among the party insiders unless he is able to win a majority of the pledged delegates.
Clinton remains far ahead on that front. She is on track to safely end the primary season with a majority of pledged delegates even if she loses all six states on Tuesday and in Washington, D.C., the following week.
(AP)
