Bernie Sanders narrows gap with Hillary Clinton in California

(Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

Sen. Bernie Sanders has pulled into a statistical tie with Hillary Clinton in California's June 7 Democratic primary, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday night. Clinton leads Sanders among likely voters, 46 percent to 44 percent, within the poll's margin of error; a poll from the institute in March had Clinton leading 48 percent to 41 percent. Among Democrats, Clinton leads 49 percent to 41 percent, but there has been a surge of independents registering in California; unaffiliated voters can vote in the Democratic primary.

Clinton will almost certainly clinch the Democratic nomination on June 7, whether she wins California or not, but her campaign will start airing ads in the state on Friday. Sanders is also running commercials in California, and is spending almost all his time there until the primary. For Clinton, "big wins on the last major day of the campaign would hasten the party unification she will need if she is to defeat Trump in November," the Los Angeles Times explains. "A Sanders win on June 7 would revive at least in part his long-shot argument that party superdelegates should flip to him to increase the odds of a Democratic victory over Trump. More realistically, a solid victory would strengthen his hand in debates over the Democrats' future." The poll included 996 likely voters; it has a margin of error of ±4 percentage points.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.