Hillary Clinton Says 'There's No Way I Won't Be' Democratic Nominee
The candidate compares this election with her 2008 run.
— -- Hillary Clinton is showing her confidence.
During an interview on CNN on Thursday, the Democratic presidential candidate essentially called the primary race over.
"I will be the nominee for my party," she said, bluntly. "That's already done, in effect. There's no way I won't be."
Clinton currently has 2,293 delegates, according to a delegate count by ABC News, putting her just 90 delegates shy of the number needed to clinch the nomination.
By the same count, Sanders has 1,528 delegates -- 765 less than Clinton.
But, Clinton has been hesitant to directly call on Sanders, who has pledged to stay in the race through the Democratic convention in July, to drop out.
In recent weeks she has subtly made the case as to why he should consider it, specifically by comparing her 2008 campaign against Barack Obama to her race against Sanders now.
"Depending on how you evaluate, I had more popular votes, but I had fewer delegates. And the name of the game is how many delegates you have, right?" Clinton said on CNN today, referring to her 2008 race.
On June 7, 2008, Clinton dropped out of the primary race when, according to delegate counts at the time by several major news organizations, Obama was ahead by roughly 124 pledged delegates. The two contenders were, as Clinton said today, neck and neck in the popular vote, according to a Real Clear Politics count that showed Obama at 48.1 percent and Clinton at 48 percent.
As Clinton lays the groundwork for the general election now, she's also ramping up her attacks against the man she's most likely to run against: Donald Trump.
Earlier this month, when asked whether the likely Republican presidential nominee is qualified, she demurred:
"Well," she said, "The voters have to determine that."
But in her interview today, Clinton said, "I have concluded he's not qualified to be President of the United States."
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