Hillary Clinton declared victory in the Democratic presidential primary Tuesday night as the presumptive nominee and will become the first female major party nominee for the presidency in American history, according to the Associated Press and the major television networks. Despite losing four of six contests Tuesday night, including the critical state of California, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has vowed to contest the primary all the way to the Democratic National Convention.
“Tonight caps an amazing journey — a long, long journey,” Clinton said in a victory speech before a large crowd of supporters in Brooklyn. “We all owe so much to those who came before, and tonight belongs to all of you.”
The former secretary of state was expected to clinch the support of enough Democratic Party delegates and superdelegates on Tuesday evening to win the party's nomination as polls closed in the final six states to vote in the 2016 presidential primary. However, reporters for the AP completed a survey of uncommitted party leaders Monday that showed her support at over the required threshold of 2,383 delegates to the Democratic convention in July. NBC News, ABC News and CBS News soon confirmed the AP’s reporting.
Clinton's first double-digit victory in a primary contest this cycle came in South Carolina on Feb. 27 when she won by 47 percent, and she celebrated that night with a victory party at the Carolina Volleyball Center on the USC campus. At that event, Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC) predicted that the Palmetto primary gave Clinton a boost in momentum that would help lead her to the nomination. "We, tonight, have started Hillary Clinton on her way to the White House," he said.
Recent USC graduate Nick Sottile endorsed Clinton in his role as president of the South Carolina College Democrats during the state's primary. "I think she has the policies that will move South Carolinians forward, move college students forward and will really build on the progress of President Obama," he said. Sottile now works on the Clinton campaign advance team.
Sanders refused to concede the election Tuesday night and his campaign signaled it was ready to contest the primary all the way to the party’s convention in Philadelphia.
"I am pretty good in arithmetic, and I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight,” Sanders said at a rally in Santa Monica early Wednesday morning. “But we will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate we can get.”
“It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer,” spokesman Michael Briggs said in a post on Sanders’ campaign website.
Sanders was hoping a victory in California would boost his campaign’s argument that enough superdelegates will embrace his campaign’s recent momentum and strong poll numbers against Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump.
“Our goal is to get as many delegates as we possibly can and to make the case to superdelegates that I believe the evidence is very strong that I am the strongest candidate,” Sanders said at a press conference in California Monday afternoon.
While Sanders criss-crossed the Golden State on Monday, his campaign was hard at work pushing that narrative.
“Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination,” Briggs said. “She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then.”
Clinton’s campaign downplayed the developments Monday night as they looked ahead to Tuesday’s primary in California and the other contests in Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, New Jersey and South Dakota. “We’re flattered, AP, but we’ve got primaries to win,” Clinton tweeted shortly after the announcement.
“We look forward to Tuesday night, when Hillary Clinton will clinch not only a win in the popular vote, but also the majority of pledged delegates,” campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement.
Adding to the woes for the Sanders campaign is news coming Monday that, after speaking with Sanders by phone over the weekend, President Barack Obama could endorse Clinton this week.
On Tuesday night, Clinton praised Sanders in her speech, saying that the contested primary had been "very good for the Democratic Party and America."