Clinton Declares Dem Nomination Victory; Sanders Says Will Continue

Posted Wednesday, June 8, 2016 12:00 am

Jackson Falconer

Last updated at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 9, 2016

The results for Tuesday's state primary contests saw former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declare herself the presidential nominee for the Democratic party after winning New Jersey, California, South Dakota and New Mexico. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who won North Dakota's caucus and Montana's primary on Tuesday, said his campaign would press on to the District of Columbia primary next week.

With Clinton's victories in California, New Jersey, South Dakota and New Mexico, she now has a total of 2,780 delegates from all primaries and caucuses taken place so far in the Democratic presidential race. Tuesday was the last major day for the party's presidential contests; only the June 14 D.C. primary remains.

Speaking in Brooklyn to an audience of supporters, Clinton said: "It may be hard to see tonight but we are all standing under a glass ceiling right now. But don’t worry. We’re not smashing this one. Thanks to you, we’ve reached a milestone. The first time in our nation’s history that a woman will be a major party’s nominee." Clinton gave the speech after it was confirmed that she had won New Jersey.

Continuing, Clinton congratulated Sanders on his campaign instead of his North Dakota victory, saying he had "excited millions of voters, especially young people." She added she had won "a majority of contests and, after tonight, a majority of pledged delegates."

Meanwhile, Sanders' speech in California, which started just before 2 a.m. E.T., promised that his campaign would continue for the delegates at stake in the D.C. primary. "I am pretty good at arithmetic, and I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight, but we will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate we can get," he said.

Sanders did not say whether he would suspend or continue his campaign after the District of Columbia primary. Instead, his speech promised that he and his supporters would take their fight "for social, economic, racial, and environmental justice to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

On the Republican side of Tuesday's contests, Donald Trump earned the GOP delegates of five states–the same ones contested by the Democrats that day, excepting North Dakota–on his presumed path to the party's nomination. The Republican primary is no longer a contest as Trump has been the party's sole presidential candidate since early May.