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Clinton claims historic victory in Democratic primary

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  • ASSOCIATED PRESS

    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump applauds during a rally, Thursday, in San Jose, Calif.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a concert at the Greek Theater, Monday, June 6, 2016, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)
  • ASSOCIATED PRESS

    In this May, 19 photo, Richard Avina, center, a volunteer for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, assists Judith Ceja, with her daughter Angela to find her voting place in Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles.

  • ASSOCIATED PRESS

    Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets supporters during a presidential primary election night rally, Tuesday, June 7, 2016, in New York.

NEW YORK >> Claiming her place in history, Hillary Clinton declared victory Tuesday night in her bruising battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, becoming the first woman to lead a major American political party and casting herself as the beneficiary of generations who fought for equality.

“This campaign is about making sure there are no ceilings, no limits on any of us,” Clinton said during an emotional rally in Brooklyn, eight years to the day after she ended her first failed White House run. As she took the stage to raucous cheers, she paused to relish the moment, flinging her arms wide and beaming broadly.

Clinton had already secured the delegates needed for the nomination, according to an Associated Press tally. She added to her totals with victories in New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota, three of the six states voting Tuesday.

Clinton faces a two-front challenge in the coming days. She must appeal to the enthusiastic supporters of her rival Bernie Sanders — who insists he still has a narrow path to the nomination — and sharpen her contrasts with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

She sought to make progress on both, using her own loss in 2008 to connect with Sanders’ backers.

“It never feels good to put our heart into a cause or a candidate you believe in and come up short,” she said. “I know that feeling well. But as we look ahead to the battle that awaits, let’s remember all that unites us.”

She was biting and sarcastic as she took on Trump, accusing him of wanting to win “by stoking fear and rubbing salt in wounds — and reminding us daily just how great he is.”

Even as the Democratic race was ending, new turmoil broke out among the Republicans. GOP leaders recoiled at Trump’s comments about a Hispanic judge, with one senator even pulling his endorsement.

Trump capped his difficult day with victories in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota and Montana. But he was muted his victory rally, saying he understands “the responsibility” of leading the Republican Party. He also made a direct appeal to dejected Sanders supporters and other Democrats.

“This election isn’t about Republican or Democrat, it’s about who runs this country: the special interests or the people,” he said. Trump promised a major speech next week on Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Clinton’s win in New Jersey came a day after she secured the 2,383 delegates she needed to become first female presumptive nominee of a major political party, according to an Associated Press tally. Her total includes pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses, as well as superdelegates — the party officials and officeholders who can back a candidate of their choosing.

President Barack Obama called both Clinton and Sanders late Tuesday. The White House said Obama congratulated Clinton for “securing the delegates necessary to clinch the Democratic nomination for president” and praised her “historic campaign,” though he did not formally endorse her.

The White House said Obama and Sanders will meet at the White House on Thursday, at the Vermont senator’s request

Clinton and Sanders were both pressing for victory in California, each eager to effectively end their primary battle on a high note.

Sanders picked up a win in North Dakota, where a handful of delegates were up for grabs.

Sanders hoped a victory would help in his so-far-unsuccessful bid to get Clinton superdelegates to switch their support. Asked on NBC whether he was continuing that effort, he said, “We are. We’re on the phone right now.”

Clinton and Sanders are also expected to connect in the coming days, Clinton’s spokesman said late Tuesday. The candidates’ campaign managers spoke earlier in the day, signaling that conversations were underway about the road ahead.

Republicans had appeared unified after Trump vanquished his last opponents about a month ago. But the real estate mogul has continued to make controversial statements, frustrating party leaders.

The latest cause for GOP concern was his insistence that a judge handling a legal case involving the businessman was being unfair in his rulings. Trump has said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel can’t be impartial because the jurist’s parents were born in Mexico and Trump wants to build a wall along the border.

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, who is locked in a close re-election fight, became the first lawmaker to pull his endorsement of Trump. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the businessman’s assertion was the “textbook definition of a racist comment” but he would continue to support Trump.

Trump released a statement saying he does “not feel one’s heritage makes them incapable of being impartial.” But he still questioned whether he was receiving fair treatment in the case involving the now-defunct Trump University.

Sanders’ achievements have been remarkable for a candidate who was unknown to most Americans before the campaign. He has drawn massive crowds to rallies around the country and built a fundraising juggernaut based largely on small donations online. The Vermont senator has been particularly popular with young voters, an important piece of the Democratic coalition.

Still, Clinton’s victory has been broadly decisive. She leads Sanders by more than 3 million cast votes.

After her win in New Jersey, Clinton had 2,469 delegates to Sanders’ 1,637. That count includes both pledged delegates and superdelegates.

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        • just in case all the Democrat establishment cheats Bernie out of this race, I am not voting for her. I’ll barf and vote for Trump. Democrat “party leaders” and super delegates that discount the party members, I’m talking to you! I know lots of Democrats, young and OLD that are going to vote for Trump if Bernie is thrown under the bus.

        • loves to read – By “Democrat establishment” do you mean the voters who voted for Clinton and not Sanders? She won more states, more pledged delegates and something like 3 million more votes. She doesn’t need super delegates (Mr. Sanders obviously knew how the system worked) and can win the nomination by pledged delegates alone.

          You think that arithmetic is wrong? It’s not wrong. It looks the voters threw him under the bus.

        • Yes, loves to read, the fix was in from the get go. For ex, the subterranean debate scheme set up by the DNC, aimed at minimizing the awkward Clinton’s exposure AND keeping kindly old Bernie from shining. I wonder if things, such as vote totals/delegate counts would have been different if the dice hadn’t been loaded?????

        • Great, another brilliant snip from Klastri. He always ads so much warmth and intelligence to this forum.

        • BuhByeAloha – If you don’t want to read my comments, then don’t.

          You’re an adult. Make better choices.

        • Anytime someone uses the term conspiracy it invokes a nut job, as if every person in government has super high ethics and would never ever plot or conspire to achieve
          a desired result.

        • postmanx – You apparently didn’t read the comments. He was suggesting that Mrs. Clinton may have shot someone. A typically ridiculous and shameful comment.

    • Besides that. it will be the most boring election ever. The result is foregone: Trump destroyed himself already with his ridiculous judge comment.

  • Today’s G.O.P. is to governing what Trump University is to education — an ethically challenged enterprise that enriches and perpetuates itself by shedding all pretense of standing for real principles, or a truly relevant value proposition, and instead plays on the ignorance

  • hiliar is on the way to be the first female felon to be indicted while running a campaign for president. if it happens before the democrat convention she will be dropped from the ticket and sanders would be the candidate. hiliar’s best hope is for obama to pardon her before jan.10.

    • You have the most bizarre fantasies.

      You write this over and over and over again. No matter how many times you write this, it will never become true. You might as well just accept that now.

      Mrs. Clinton is going to be the President of the United States. She’s going to win in a landslide.

      • And we will win the US Senate, and quite possibly now the House. The biggest objective of the Rs is now becoming to migrate “downstream” races. There will be at least 3 new US Supreme Court justices…..and the court will be set for another 30-40 years.

        • sarge22 – People who formerly endorsed him are running away from him now. Last weekend was the final straw. Because unlike you, a lot of smart people don’t want to be associated with a racist.

          He now has a 14% approval rating among US citizens of Latino heritage, and they are registering to vote by the tens of thousands in all 50 states in order to vote against him. There aren’t enough slow, angry white men to elect him.

          Keep up with your fantasy. He’s done. But the really good news is that he’s going to allow Democrats to take over the Senate and possibly the House.

          “I love the poorly educated!” Go Trump!

        • The future is Hispanic nation. Give in you all and cover yourselves , a new age is coming.

        • Sarge, Newsflash was just repudiated, and that is being more than diplomatic, by a host of leaders in his own party. From the House majority leader to his counterpart in the Senate, to Mark Kirk to Jeff Blake to Lindsey Graham, please there is already serious talk about contesting Trump at their convention. The Ds do not have to even lift a finger…get a grip on reality you pillock.

        • Allaha – Yes, be afraid of brown people. That makes a lot of sense. Like usual!

          Do you ever get tired of being afraid of everything?

        • Mr Trump gave a presidential speech today. The establishment was never behind him so that’s no big thing. The so-called leaders in the party have let the people down. Monday will get the ball rolling against the Clintons and should be very interesting. Bernie’s followers are angry and that’s a good thing. “Make America Great Again”

        • Not a single poll, not ONE, show any evidence that Sanders followers will vote for Trump. The thought itself is at the height of tomfoolery….no wonder you like it.

        • Do you really think that Sanders followers would admit that they would vote for Trump? I thought you were smarter then that.

      • I’ll take The Racist. The one who has the Illegal immigrants waving Mexican flags, burning American flags, riots and assaults at all his rallies. Viva La Raza, Viva Mexico, Viva Zapata.

        • Yes, you have really become fixated on that, haven’t you… Remarkable.

          He has you caring about a private lawsuit that he cannot win, in which he defrauded thousands of people.

          Good for you!

        • What do you call a man lies about charitable donations, who lies about how much he actually makes, who relies on other people to bail him out (4 bankruptcies in 20 years for a total of 450 million), and is basically a racist stingy fool? I ask, as I am pretty much you resemble him quite remarkably….

        • Can’t wait to see how this plays out. Viva Mexico.
          The problemo is some of the students were just plain stupid. The course was refundable. You 2 persons could have asked for a refund. I don’t know but it might be too late.

          $5,700,000 dinero compared to $75,000? Better late than never.
          Buenos Noches Amigos. Viva Zapata.

        • boolakanaka – At least lespark publicly announced that he supports a racist for President. Not many other racists who post here have been willing to do that.

          Of course, anything else ever written by lespark can be considered garbage. Good riddance.

      • Contrary to boolakanaka’s claim, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted in May, 20% of Sanders supporters plan to vote for Trump. That is an increase from the previous poll totaling 9% in March.

  • The criminal violation Hillary Clinton committed on her email, if it was an ordinary American citizen, he or she would be prosecuted and sent to prison for a long time.
    Is Hillary Clinton above the law? It’s no surprise that 70 percent of Democrats still support this Obama clone. Why it’s no surprise? Democrats are pure liberals – meaning anything good, is evil. And anything Evil is good. There is moral collapse in this country thanks to the liberal Democratic party.
    They are anti-christian and anti-God of the Holy Bible. These liberals don’t see anything horrible about murdering a baby in their mother’s womb.
    As for marriage, they call it “Equality in marriage.” That’s blasphermey to God’s covenant of marriage for all human beings of one man and one woman.
    If Hillary gets elected, Obama will get his third term through his clone, Hillary Clinton.
    Jesus Christ said in the last days (the time we are living now) it will get darker and darker. Does that mean Hillary Clinton will get elected. It seems that way.

    • I’m not sure if you’re lying or if you simply don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no crime.

      You are still afraid of your imaginary friend? You should choose less violent and scary imaginary friends.

  • HILLARY already knew about BILLY-BOB’S way of indiscretion. SHE knew it way long before the White-House! HER job was to keep everything behind the scenes and keep it from becoming PUBLIC knowledge. BILLY-BOB wasn’t real good at it, see MONICA.
    Talk about a LIAR !

  • YES!
    GO, HILLARY. WE ARE THE GENERATION THAT MADE POSSIBLE THE RIGHTS THAT WOMEN NOW CELEBRATE AS THEIR OWN. REMEMBER SENECA FALLS, AND THE SACRIFICES MADE BY MANY OF US.
    M

  • Bernie feels the Burn. The polls were so wrong…it had them almost tied. Yet Mrs. Clinton won by double digits in California. Go away Bernie. It’s time for Hillary and The Donald to duke it out.

  • hiliar and bill promoted arresting and extending prison sentences for “super predators” liberal code words for inner city black youths. hiliar attacked every female victim of bill’s sexual assaults and sexual harassments calling them trailer trash and worse.

    democrats are proud to support the first female felon racist and facilitator of rape and sexual harassment.

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