Even before anyone voted on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton had enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination, according to an Associated Press tally. But that relied on support from superdelegates, who, as Bernie Sanders rightly notes, can change their mind up until the Democratic National Convention. Sanders has said he will continue to press superdelegates to change their vote to him, but it looks like even that avenue will be cut off after California votes are counted. Why? Because Clinton now only needs 27 percent of California's 475 delegates to get a majority of pledged delegates, making superdelegates irrelevant.
Delegate geeks Harry Enten and Nate Silver have looked at the night's results and predicted at FiveThirtyEight that Clinton will get an outright majority of pledged delegates on Tuesday, and The Washington Post's Philip Bump explains why. Going into the night, Sanders needed 500 delegates to get an outright majority, Clinton needed 215. With her wins in New Jersey, New Mexico, and her five delegates in North Dakota, Clinton needed only 129 delegates in California; she will get at least 140, NBC News says. "At this point, Bernie Sanders' last electoral argument is gone," Bump says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2025Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Pam Bondi, retirement planning, and more
-
5 heavy-handed cartoons about ICE and deportationCartoons Artists take on international students, the Supreme Court, and more
-
Exploring the three great gardens of JapanThe Week Recommends Beautiful gardens are 'the stuff of Japanese landscape legends'
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contemptSpeed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cutsSpeed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deporteeSpeed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't lastSpeed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's ShapiroSpeed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia UniversitySpeed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrantSpeed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportationsSpeed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
