Source: Scott Olson / Getty
The Latest on the Democratic presidential nominating contests Saturday in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington state (all times local):
Sanders needs to win 67 percent of the remaining delegates and uncommitted superdelegates through June to be able to clinch the Democratic nomination. So far he’s only winning 37 percent.
With 25 Hawaii delegates at stake, Sanders picked up 17. Clinton gained eight. That means in Saturday’s contests, Sanders won a total of 55 delegates, having also won Washington state and Alaska. Clinton picked up 20.
More delegates are likely to be allocated to Sanders in several weeks, when the Washington state Democratic party releases vote shares by district. Still, Clinton maintains a wide advantage in delegates. Based on primaries and caucuses to date, she’s won 1,243 delegates to Sanders’ 975.
Clinton’s lead is even bigger when including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate they wish. Including superdelegates, Clinton has 1,712 delegates to Sanders’ 1,004. It takes 2,383 to win.
Bernie Sanders has scored three wins in Western caucus contests, giving a powerful psychological boost to his supporters but doing little to move him closer to securing the Democratic nomination.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Sanders cast his performance as part of a Western comeback, saying he expects to close the delegate gap with Clinton as the contest moves to the more liberal northeastern states, including her home state of New York. He also said his campaign is increasing its outreach to superdelegates.
source: WTOP.com
