INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Hillary Clinton Has NOT Won The Democratic Nomination, Despite What Reports Say

By Val Powell
Published on: 22:20 PST, Jun 6, 2016

Major news outlets are now declaring Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, saying she has secured the majority of the delegates needed to win the contest. However, it is not over for Bernie Sanders.

Following the Associated Press report, a spokesman for Bernie Sanders came forward to clarify that the senator is still in the race. Spokesman Michael Briggs said Hillary Clinton has not yet won the nomination because superdelegates, the party leaders who are free to choose whom to support, are set to vote in July’s convention.

“Our job from now until the convention is to convince those superdelegates that Bernie is by far the strongest candidate against Donald Trump,” Briggs stated.

Where did the report come from? Based on an AP count of pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses and a survey of superdelegates, Hillary Clinton is said to have won the overall support of the 2,383 delegates required to clinch the nomination.

“Now as the presumptive nominee, she will formally accept her party’s nomination in July at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia,” AP stated on its website.

The news was also confirmed by NBC.

No states voted on Monday, but the AP based its count on the number of pledged delegates, who are chosen by the voters, and the 712 unelected superdelegates, who are free to give their support to anyone they choose.

Hillary Clinton is now just 23 delegates shy of the 2,383 required number to secure the nomination. A CBS report estimated that the former Secretary of State currently has 2,360 total delegates, and that includes superdelegates supporting her.

Hillary Clinton has the support of 36 delegates from Puerto Rico, while Bernie Sanders has picked up 20 so far.

There are still 694 delegates up for grabs on Tuesday. As the election is drawing near, Hillary Clinton is getting closer to the coveted spot as more superdelegates express their support.

Is it game over for Bernie Sanders then? The Vermont Senator needs to get 97 percent of all the remaining delegates – including the support of superdelegates or those who may switch from Hillary Clinton – to reach the required 2,383.

For Hillary Clinton to obtain a majority of pledged delegates, she will have to get the support of 2,026, which is more than 50 percent of the 4,051 total pledged delegates. The former First Lady has a good start because she already has 1,812 pledged delegates so far. To get a majority, she needs to win about 30 percent of the pledged delegates in the remaining contests.

The former Secretary of State has already secured 54 percent of pledged delegates to date.

On the other hand, Bernie Sanders would need to win 72 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to reach the required 2,026, but the senator still has a chance to clinch the nomination. So far, the Senator has won the support of about 46 percent of the pledged delegates.

With the news outlets reporting that Hillary Clinton has won the nomination, many are led to believe that the race is over for Bernie Sanders. The reports may sound unexciting for some of his supporters, but the Vermont Senator is not conceding.

It is still mathematically possible that the Senator would win the delegates in the remaining states and beat Hillary Clinton in the pledged delegate count. She may have enough delegates to clinch the nomination, but there is still a chance that some superdelegates will sway and switch camps before July 25.

Many things can happen between now and the much-awaited convention, as the numbers could still change.

Nevertheless, Bernie Sanders is right that Hillary Clinton will not officially be the Democratic Party’s nominee until she is declared the nominee at the convention.

[Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]

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