What's at Stake in the Last Major Wave of 2016 Primary Contests
For the Democrats, 694 pledged delegates will be allotted today.
— -- Today marks the final wave of contests for the Republicans and the last time multiple states vote for the Democrats. (Washington, D.C., will hold its Democratic primary next week.) Voters in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota head to the polls today, and North Dakota holds a Democratic caucus.
In many ways, the contests are settled. The Associated Press has declared that Hillary Clinton has amassed the necessary 2,383 delegates to secure the nomination, a position Trump has been in for over a month. Today 694 pledged delegates are at stake for the Democrats, the most since March 15, and 303 for the Republicans.
Here's a summary of what's at stake:
Republicans
States voting today
California, 172 delegates
Montana, 27 delegates
New Jersey, 51 delegates
New Mexico, 24 delegates
South Dakota, 29 delegates
Total delegates available: 303
Donald Trump has been the presumptive nominee since the Indiana primary, after Ted Cruz and John Kasich suspended their campaigns. Trump surpassed the 1,237 delegates necessary for the nomination on May 26.
However, that count included unbound delegates, those who do not have to vote for him on the first ballot. Trump currently has 1,140 bound delegates and will almost certainly acquire the remaining 97 delegates he needs. And of course, as he has repeatedly said at rallies, he has already broken the record for the number of votes received in a Republican primary contest, and he wants to keep raising the tally. He will be looking to these five states to help him do that.
Democrats
States voting today
California, 475 pledged delegates
Montana, 21 pledged delegates
New Jersey, 126 pledged delegates
New Mexico, 34 pledged delegates
North Dakota, 18 pledged delegates
South Dakota, 20 pledged delegates
Total pledged delegates: 694
Although Clinton has already reached the magic number of delegates for the nomination and that total will rise today even if she wins no contests, that count includes 571 superdelegates, party leaders who can switch their vote at any time. It is highly unlikely that she will get to 2,383 with only pledged delegates. But she needs only 216 more pledged delegates — 31 percent of today's haul — to acquire a majority of all pledged delegate.
Bernie Sanders, who has vowed to fight through today's primaries, is relying on superdelegates' switching their allegiance to have a shot at the nomination. To strengthen his argument, he is trying to win California, which would give him, at a minimum, over 230 delegates.
Even if Sanders wins California, he has an uphill climb to amass a majority of pledged delegates, which would be his best argument to sway the superdelegates. To reach a majority, he needs 504 pledged delegates — 73 percent of today's haul.
Also, if he sweeps the six Democratic contests today, he will surpass Clinton in the number of states won: His total would be 26 states, while hers would be 24.
