Democratic frontrunner Hillary 60 delegates short, eyes California
Washington/ Long Beach ( California), June 5: California is the final big contest in the long, bitter fight for the Democratic nomination. Opinion polls show the Democratic race there tightening in recent weeks. Where frontrunner Hillary Clinton — a former secretary of state — once held a big lead over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the two now are nearly tied.
A University of Southern California/ Los Angeles Times poll released on Friday showed Mr Sanders leading Ms Clinton 44 per cent to 43 per cent. This represents a considerable swing from March when Ms Clinton held a nine- point edge.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump has earned the nomination for the November 8 election, and Ms Clinton is close to capturing the number of delegates she needs to head the Democratic ticket. Her campaign expects that a win in New Jersey earlier on Tuesday will secure the nomination.
“Ms Clinton would like to go to the nominating convention with the wind at her back and tamp down the perception that she doesn’t excite Democrats,” said Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist in Washington.
A Sanders victory will not clear the way to his nomination unless it triggers a defection by scores of superdelegates — party office- holders and officials — from Ms Clinton’s camp,
Hillary Clinton took another step to becoming the Democratic presidential nominee by sweeping up all seven delegates in the Virgin Islands primaries
an unlikely outcome.
Mr Sanders has vowed to use California as a springboard to the party convention in Philadelphia in July. A win, especially a big one, would validate the selfdescribed democratic socialist’s decision to stay in the race to the end and give him leverage to influence Ms Clinton’s policies and Cabinet picks.
Meanwhile, Ms Clinton scored a sweeping win in the US Virgin Islands on Saturday, picking up all seven pledged delegates at stake as she inched tantalisingly close to the Democratic nomination.
She is now just 60 delegates short of the 2,383 needed to advance to the November general election.