The Latest: President Barack Obama congratulates Hillary Clinton, calls Bernie Sanders
WASHINGTON – The Latest on campaign 2016 as California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota vote. (all times Pacific):
9 p.m.
President Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night to congratulate her for securing “the delegates necessary to clinch” the Democratic nomination for president.
But the president did not formally endorse Clinton. The White House says the president also called Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to praise him for shining a spotlight on economic inequality and energizing millions of voters.
The statement said that Obama and Sanders would meet at the White House on Thursday.
8:48 p.m.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential primary in South Dakota.
Earlier Tuesday, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president won the state primaries in New Mexico and New Jersey. Her rival, Bernie Sanders, won the Democratic caucuses in North Dakota.
The Associated Press declared Clinton the presumptive nominee ahead of Tuesday’s contests, but her rival Bernie Sanders has vowed to fight through to next week’s primary in Washington, DC.
8:20 p.m.
Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in California, the biggest prize in his triumphant run to become the GOP nominee.
Trump will now go on to the national convention in July with more than enough delegates to become the official nominee, but his candidacy remains a source of controversy, with many in the GOP struggling to rally behind the brash billionaire.
Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that comments Trump made accusing a district court judge of passing a racially-motivated judgment against him were the “textbook definition of a racist comment,” and Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois withdrew his support from the presumptive nominee.
7:55 p.m.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential primary in New Mexico.
Clinton walks away with her second win in Tuesday’s half dozen contests against rival Bernie Sanders, who won the caucuses in North Dakota.
Earlier Tuesday, Clinton declared herself the winner of the Democratic nomination, thanking her supporters for helping her to reach the historic milestone.
The Associated Press declared Clinton the presumptive nominee, but her rival Bernie Sanders has vowed to fight on until all the superdelegates are allocated. Clinton leads Sanders both in pledged delegates and superdelegates.
7:35 p.m.
Hillary Clinton took direct aim at Donald Trump on Tuesday night as she claimed the Democratic nomination for president, calling out the billionaire for divisive rhetoric and casting his “Make America Great Again” slogan as “code for let’s take America backward.”
Clinton told supporters in Brooklyn, New York, that Trump was “temperamentally unfit” to be president, citing Trump’s attacks on a federal judge, reporters and women.
“He wants to win by stoking fear and rubbing salt in wounds and reminding us daily just how great he is,” Clinton said. “Well, we believe we should lift each other up, not tear each other down.”
7:30 p.m.
Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in Montana.
Trump will now go on to the national convention in July with more than enough delegates to become the official nominee, but his candidacy remains a source of controversy, with many in the GOP struggling to rally behind the brash billionaire.
Prior to his win in Montana Tuesday, Trump earned at least 1,239 bound delegates who are required by party rules to vote for him at the convention. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the GOP nomination.
Trump also has public support from 95 unbound delegates, but they could possibly change their minds and switch to another candidate.
7:20 p.m.
Hillary Clinton laid claim to the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination and with it, a piece of history Tuesday night, as she became the first woman to lead a major party’s bid for the White House.
Speaking in Brooklyn, New York, on a night where she won the New Jersey primary, Clinton told supporters that they were witnessing a historical moment.
“Thanks to you we’ve reached a milestone. First time in our nation’s history that a woman will be a major party’s nominee,” she said, adding that the victory “belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible.”
7:10 p.m.
Hillary Clinton continues to add to her delegate lead for the night, even after losing North Dakota.
Bernie Sanders won that state’s caucus, but Clinton’s victory in New Jersey is more than canceling out his gains.
For the evening, Clinton so far has won 58 pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses to Sanders’ 47.
That means based on primaries and caucuses to date, she has now won 1,870 to Sanders’ 1,568.
Her lead is bigger when including superdelegates.
She has 2,441 to Sanders’ 1,616.
7 p.m.
You can forget about a contested Republican convention this summer, regardless of how many GOP politicians come out against Donald Trump.
With his victories Tuesday, Trump now has at least 1,239 bound delegates who are required by party rules to vote for him at the convention. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the GOP nomination.
Trump also has public support from 95 unbound delegates, but they could possibly change their minds and switch to another candidate.
Several Republicans in Congress are criticizing Trump for saying that a federal judge could not preside fairly over a case involving Trump University because of his Mexican heritage.
GOP Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona said Trump’s comments could spur talk of a challenge at the convention.
6:55 p.m.
Even before taking the stage to thank her supporters Tuesday, Hillary Clinton is on Twitter celebrating a milestone as she comes closer than any woman has ever come to being the presidential nominee of a major political party.
“We made history tonight,” Clinton said in one Tweet, promoting a free magnet bearing her image which reads, “June 7, 2016: History made.”
Another Tweet touts, “Tonight, we can say with pride that, in America, there is no barrier too great and no ceiling too high to break.”
The Associated Press declared Clinton the presumptive nominee on the eve of Tuesday’s election in half a dozen states, but her rival Bernie Sanders has vowed to fight on until all the superdelegates are allocated. Clinton leads Sanders both in pledged delegates and superdelegates.
6:42 p.m.
Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic presidential caucuses in North Dakota.
The senator from Vermont and his rival Hillary Clinton now each claim a win for the night, with four contests yet to be determined.
The Associated Press declared Clinton the presumptive nominee on the eve of Tuesday’s election in half a dozen states, but Sanders has vowed to fight on until all the superdelegates are allocated. Clinton leads Sanders both in pledged delegates and superdelegates.
6:30 p.m.
U.S. Rep. George Holding of North Carolina says he still supports Donald Trump, although the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is not in his “good books” at the moment.
At a victory party Tuesday at a Raleigh, N.C. restaurant and bar, Holding reiterated that he still supports Trump even though he endorsed Renee Ellmers in the year’s only congressional primary between incumbents.
Holding ousted Ellmers from a redrawn district that includes much of the area that has elected him previously. He also defeated a third GOP challenger, Greg Brannon.
Holding, a former federal prosecutor, also said Trump’s comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel were inappropriate. Trump has said Curiel can’t be impartial in a case involving Trump because the judge’s parents were born in Mexico and Trump wants to build a wall along the border.
6:20 p.m.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is claiming that his likely general election opponent Hillary Clinton “turned the State Department into her own private hedge fund.”
Trump said Tuesday that the ex-Secretary of State and her husband “had turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves.” He accused them of “selling access” and government contracts in order to enrich themselves and suggested Clinton used a private homebrew email server to hide it.
Speaking at a victory rally Tuesday at one of his golf courses in suburban New York City, Trump also said he would be giving a major speech about the Clintons “probably Monday.”
Trump spoke a short time before Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was expected to declare victory in her parties’ primaries.
6:20 p.m.
Having already clinched the nomination, Hillary Clinton is padding her delegate lead after a win in New Jersey.
With 126 delegates at stake, Clinton will win at least 50. Bernie Sanders will pick up at least 37. Many delegates remain outstanding as votes continue to be counted.
That means based on primaries and caucuses to date, Clinton has 1,862 and Sanders has 1,558.
Her lead is even bigger when including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate.
Clinton has 2,433 to 1,606.
It takes 2,383 to win. Clinton reached that number Monday night, following big wins in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as well as a batch of support from superdelegates.
New Jersey is among the last six states voting on Tuesday.
6:15 p.m.
Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in New Mexico.
The state marks his third win of the night as he concludes his primary run and look ahead toward the national convention.
His rallies in Albuquerque were marked by violent protests that included local gangs, as well as some pro- and anti-Trump groups.
Some of the anti-Trump protesters waved Mexican flags outside his rally last month, prompting Trump to call them “thugs who were flying the Mexican flag” on Twitter.
6:05 p.m.
Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in South Dakota, scoring a second victory on the final night of the GOP primary season.
Trump claimed a win in New Jersey earlier, walking away with all 51 delegates in the Garden State.
In a speech from his Westchester, N.Y. golf course Tuesday, Trump said he understands he bears “the responsibility of carrying the mantle and I will never ever let you down.”
Trump is the only remaining candidate in the race for the Republican nomination.
6:05 p.m.
Voters eager to find out who won the Democratic presidential primary in California could be in for a long wait.
Historically, election officials in California don’t count between 25 percent and 30 percent of the vote until days after the election. That could make it tough to determine a winner if Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are locked in a tight contest.
More than half of California’s voters vote by mail. In previous elections, ballots had to be returned by Election Day. But a 2014 law says ballots can now be returned as late as Friday, as long as they have a Tuesday postmark.
That could delay the vote count even more.
6:05 p.m.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential primary in New Jersey, further extending her lead against rival Bernie Sanders on one of the last days of voting.
The Associated Press declared Clinton the presumptive nominee on the eve of Tuesday’s election in half a dozen states, but Sanders has vowed to fight on until all the superdelegates are allocated. Clinton leads Sanders both in pledged delegates and superdelegates.
However, according to an AP count, it is no longer possible for Sanders to reach the 2,383 needed to win the nomination based on the remaining available pledged delegates and uncommitted superdelegates.
5:45 p.m.
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has picked up 51 delegates by winning New Jersey’s Republican primary.
Trump already has the support of enough delegates to win the Republican nomination for president. With no one else left in the race, he is on track to substantially pad his lead in Tuesday’s contests.
There are 303 delegates at stake in five Republican primaries Tuesday.
Trump has 1,290 delegates. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the GOP nomination for president.
5:35 p.m.
Donald Trump is preparing to address his supporters on the night of the final contests of the Republican primaries.
Trump is expected to speak Tuesday night from one of his own golf courses, the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, north of New York City.
Two teleprompters are flanking Trump’s podium, which would be a departure for the presumptive Republican nominee; Trump rarely uses the devices and often mocks his rivals, including Hillary Clinton, who do.
Several dozen supporters have filled the ballroom, which boasts glass chandeliers and views of the course’s greens.
5:30 p.m.
Donald Trump says that Republicans who are angry over his comments that a district court judge made a racially-motivated ruling against him should “get over it.”
In an interview with Fox News Tuesday, Trump said that he doesn’t care where the judge comes from, reversing his position he took in a CNN interview last week that Judge Gonzalo Curiel could not preside fairly over the case because he’s of “Mexican heritage.”
In a statement earlier Tuesday, Trump said that his comments were “misconstrued,” but added that based on the ruling he received, he is “justified in questioning” whether he’s received a fair trial.
Asked about those in the Republican Party who refuse to endorse him, Trump said: “it’s okay if they don’t. but they have to get over it, they shouldn’t be so angry for so long.”
5:25 p.m.
Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in New Jersey, one of half a dozen states heading to the polls on the final day of voting for Republicans.
The presumptive Republican nominee gains the support of New Jersey’s 51 delegates, as he looks ahead to the party’s national convention in July.
5:05 p.m.
The new super political action committee organized by Donald Trump’s friend Tom Barrack plans to spend about $1.2 million in the next two weeks on television advertising.
That’s according to data from political advertising tracker Kantar Media’s CMAG. The group, Rebuilding America Now PAC, has raised $32 million in its few days of existence, says Barrack, who has known Trump for decades and is a real estate investor in Los Angeles.
Rebuilding America Now previewed its ad on news programs Sunday and Monday. The 30-second spot cuts between Bill Clinton denying his affair with a White House intern while he was president and Hillary Clinton explaining her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. The ad concludes, “Same old typical politician.”
The ad is to air on cable stations across the country and marks the first major pro-Trump super PAC effort aimed at persuading general election voters.
4:30 p.m.
Bernie Sanders is making a brief stop on California’s iconic Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Campaigning in California on the day of its state primary, Sanders shook hands with people near the Hard Rock Cafe and TCL Chinese Theatre.
“Did you guys vote today,” Sanders asked as people swarmed around him, taking pictures with their phones.
The Associated Press declared rival Hillary Clinton the presumptive nominee on the eve of Tuesday’s election in California, but Sanders has vowed to fight on until all the superdelegates are allocated.
4:10 p.m.
Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s “disappointed” and “upset” that The Associated Press declared rival Hillary Clinton the presumptive nominee on the eve of Tuesday’s election in California.
In an interview with NBC News, Sanders expressed concern that the news came the night before “the largest primary” and that it was based on what he described as “anonymous” commitments from party insiders and Democratic officials.
The AP’s count is based on pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses as well as a survey of the party insiders known as superdelegates who can cast a ballot for the candidates of their choice at the party’s summer convention.
AP spoke directly to all of the superdelegates included in its tally, and only included them if they said they would unequivocally vote for a candidate at the convention.
3:50 p.m.
Bernie Sanders’ senior adviser says the Vermont senator plans to campaign in Washington, DC ahead of the capital’s Democratic primary, hinting that his battle for the Democratic nomination will continue beyond Tuesday’s contests.
Tad Devine said Tuesday that the Washington primary is “very important” and Sanders intends “to let every voter cast their vote.”
Asked if Sanders’ strategy to convince superdelegates to support him hinges on winning California, Devine said the campaign will “have to have a very compelling argument with them.”
3:45 p.m.
An Iowa State senator has dropped his affiliation as a Republican in light of presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump’s comments about a federal court judge’s ethnicity.
Sen. David Johnson, from staunchly Republican northwest Iowa, said Tuesday that “somebody had to make a statement,” about what the 18-year state legislator called Trump’s “bigotry.”
Johnson is referring to the billionaire’s allegation that U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel was biased in his decision against the now-defunct Trump University because he disagrees with Trump’s position on immigration. Gonzalo’s is of Mexican descent but was born in Indiana.
Johnson, 65, says he is unsure whether he will caucus with Republicans in the Iowa Senate in the 2017 legislative session. Johnson supported former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the Iowa caucus campaign, and then former tech CEO Carly Fiorina after Perry quit the race last year.
3 p.m.
Hillary Clinton is embracing her historic mantel as the first female nominee of a major political party.
Her campaign created a video featuring footage of pivotal moments in women’s history interspersed with images of Clinton.
The video will play before she takes the stage tonight in Brooklyn at a rally organized to celebrate her claiming the nomination.
“Let’s keep making history,” reads a caption at the end of the tape.
2:50 p.m.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval says he’s not totally sure whether he’ll vote for Donald Trump.
The moderate Republican governor issued a statement Tuesday saying he has major concerns with the Republican nominee’s “escalating tone and rhetoric.”
His comments come after he said in May that he planned to vote for Trump because the Democratic nominee was “simply not an option.”
Sandoval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he thought Trump’s comments about a federal judge handling a case involving Trump University were unacceptable. Trump has complained that U.S.-born federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel is biased against him and cited his Mexican heritage.
Sandoval is Nevada’s first Hispanic governor and a former federal judge.
Trump says his comments on Curiel were misconstrued.
1:15 p.m.
Republican Donald Trump says he is concerned he may not receive a fair trial given that he is the presumed Republican nominee for president.
In a lengthy statement issued Tuesday, Trump said he has friends and employees of Mexican and Hispanic descent and that his concerns about the heritage of the judge presiding over the Trump University case are legitimate. He noted that he is fighting to bring jobs back to the United States, but drugs and “illegal immigrants” threaten those efforts.
“Given my unique circumstances as nominee of the Republican Party,” the statement read, “I have concerns as to my ability to receive a fair trial.”
Trump said in the statement that he does not intend to comment “on this matter any further.”
1:05 p.m.
Republican Donald Trump says that his attacks on the judge handling the Trump University case have been “misconstrued.”
Trump said in a lengthy statement Tuesday afternoon that “it is unfortunate” his comments “have been misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage.”
Trump has complained repeatedly that federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel is biased against him and cited his Mexican heritage. Curiel was born in the U.S.
His comments have sparked a backlash among members of the Republican Party, House Speaker Paul Ryan saying Tuesday that they are “the textbook definition of racist comments.”
Trump said in his statement, “I do not feel that one’s heritage makes them incapable of being impartial,” but said that he feels justified to question whether he is receiving a fair trial based on the ruling.
12:50 p.m.
Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois says Donald Trump’s comments about a U.S. federal judge of Mexican heritage are un-American and he cannot support the presumptive presidential nominee.
This is a reversal for Kirk, one of the more endangered GOP incumbents, who had said recently he would support Trump.
In a statement Tuesday, Kirk said that Trump’s “belief that an American-born judge of Mexican descent is incapable of fairly presiding over his case is not only dead wrong, it is un-American.”
Kirk said he was hoping the rhetoric would tone down. Instead, Trump’s comments along with past attacks on Hispanics, women and “the disabled like me, make it certain that I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee” regardless of the impact on his own candidacy.
The senator added that he has concluded Trump is not fit to be commander-in-chief and oversee thousands of nuclear weapons.
10:28 a.m.
The only black Republican senator says Donald Trump’s comments about a U.S.-born judge of Mexican heritage are “racially toxic.”
Still, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott says he’s supporting Trump for president.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Scott said Trump needs to focus on the general election and “we need to win.”
Scott said he saw no need for GOP lawmakers to rescind their endorsements of Trump. He said the Obama administration has been “disastrous” for communities across the country.
“(Hillary) Clinton would just provide four more years of the last eight, and that’s not in anybody’s best interest,” he said.
Trump has drawn criticism for his claim that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel can’t preside over his case fairly because the judge is of Mexican heritage and Trump wants to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
10 a.m.
A Republican senator says Donald Trump’s criticism of a U.S.-born federal judge of Mexican heritage could fuel a convention challenge of the presumptive GOP nominee.
Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said the Republicans cannot win in November with Trump as the party’s standard-bearer.
“Let’s face it: meet the old Trump, just like the new Trump,” Flake, who has long opposed the billionaire’s candidacy, told reporters. “We’ve got what we’ve got. That’s not somebody who can win the White House.”
“Where there’s no talk of a convention challenge or anything else, this might spur it,” Flake said of Trump’s comments on Judge Gonzalo Curiel.
Trump has contended that Curiel, who is presiding over a case alleging that Trump University fleeced students, can’t judge him fairly because the judge is of Mexican heritage and Trump wants to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Trump has been questioned repeatedly about his stance but has refused to retract his comments. Curiel was born in Indiana to parents who came from Mexico in the 1940s.
8:15 a.m.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says that Donald Trump has the right to express his opinion and that he’s not a racist.
Christie defended the presumptive Republican nominee who has been criticized for saying U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel cannot judge him fairly because he is of Mexican heritage and Trump plans to build a wall with Mexico.
The former Republican presidential candidate and his son, Andrew, are delegates for Trump. They voted Tuesday at the firehouse in their hometown of Mendham. Their names are on the ballot with Trump’s.
Christie told reporters that he wouldn’t take questions on what he called the “judge kerfuffle.”
7:20 a.m.
House Speaker Paul Ryan says Donald Trump’s comments on an American-born judge of Mexican heritage are “the textbook definition of racist comments.”
Ryan says that the “mature and responsible thing” would be for Trump to disavow the comments.
“I do absolutely disavow his comments I think they’re wrong,” Ryan says but adds that “I’m going to be focusing on these ideas these solutions and not attempt to try and defend the indefensible.”
Ryan says he will still support Trump because his agenda is more likely to get enacted under Trump than Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump says U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel cannot judge him fairly because he is of Mexican heritage and Trump plans to build a wall with Mexico.
4:30 a.m.
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. The California Democrat had held off on a formal endorsement but on Tuesday, the day her state holds its presidential primary, Pelosi announced her support for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Pelosi told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that “I’m a voter in California and I have voted for Hillary Clinton for president of the United States and proud to endorse her for that position.”
Pelosi told ABC she believes Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Clinton’s rival, will be a constructive force for 2016.
Midnight
History already in hand, Hillary Clinton will celebrate becoming the first woman to lead a major American political party following votes in California, New Jersey and four other states.
Clinton reached the 2,383 delegates needed to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on the eve of Tuesday’s voting, according to an Associated Press tally.
Her total is comprised of pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses, as well as superdelegates – the party officials and officeholders who can back a candidate of their choosing.
Clinton greeted news of her achievement with a measured response. She’s wary of depressing turnout in the impending contests and eager to save the revelry for a big victory party in Brooklyn.