Hillary Clinton earns enough delegates to capture Democratic nomination

Hillary Clinton will be the first woman to top the presidential ticket of a major U.S. political party, having captured commitments from the number of delegates needed to become the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee.

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It was a victory that arrived Monday — nearly eight years to the day after she conceded her first White House campaign to Barack Obama and famously noted her inability to "shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling."

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Campaigning this time as the loyal successor to the nation's first black president, Clinton held off a surprisingly strong challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to break through.

Clinton reached the 2,383 delegates needed to become the presumptive nominee with a decisive victory in Puerto Rico and a burst of last-minute support from party insiders known as superdelegates.

For her part, Clinton tweeted patience ahead of Tuesday's primaries. 

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The Sanders campaign responded to the news with skepticism and denial and insisting the race for the Democratic nomination was still wide open.

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Two days of election contests remain. On Tuesday, voters in six states — California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota — head to the polls, with 694 delegates up for grabs. The Washington, D.C., primary is a week later, with 26 delegates at stake.

Even if Clinton were to lose all the remaining contests, she would continue to comfortably pad her delegate lead above the 2,383 threshold. That's because Democrats award pledged delegates in proportion to the vote, so even the loser gets some.

Sanders, meanwhile, would need to win 814 delegates to reach 2,383. That's no longer possible — only 813 pledged delegates and uncommitted superdelegates remain.

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Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, released a statement Monday night following the news of the victory.

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Next up for Clinton: tomorrow's primaries. Then, the general election campaign against Donald Trump, coming among reports that President Barack Obama is about to officially endorse Clinton. 

Additional reporting by Mashable.

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