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.

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

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.

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.