Hillary Clinton won the Puerto Rico Democratic primary on Sunday, moving her a step closer to prevailing over her rival, Bernie Sanders, in the fight for her party’s presidential nomination.
Clinton has received 31 of the US island territory’s pledged delegates. Sanders won 16. She now has fewer than 30 delegates to obtain to secure the number needed to win the nomination, according to the Associated Press.
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“We just won Puerto Rico! ¡Gracias a la Isla del Encanto por esta victoria!” Clinton tweeted after her victory was projected Sunday night.
The win gives the former secretary of state a boost ahead of a big night on Tuesday, when six states, including California, which has the most delegates up for grabs of any state, will hold nominating contests. Clinton could cross the threshold of 2,382 delegates needed to lock down the nomination as early as 8pm ET on Tuesday, when polls close in New Jersey.
She and Sanders, the US senator from Vermont, are in a dead heat in California. But delegates in the state are awarded on a proportional basis, so even a loss there for Clinton would not be likely to stop her from securing her party’s nomination and a likely general election contest with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Ahead of Puerto Rico’s nominating contest, Clinton had been just 60 delegates shy of clinching the nomination, when including superdelegates, who consist of party leaders and elected senators, members of Congress and governors.
Clinton now has won 1,809 pledged delegates in total, while Sanders has 1,519. Clinton’s lead grows wider when including superdelegates, bringing her total number of delegates to 2,357, compared with 1,565 for the Vermont senator.
Sanders is bracing for a prolonged fight and has vowed to take his campaign all the way to the Democratic convention at the end of July.
Networks reported huge voter turnout and long lines in Puerto Rico, with just over 430 polling stations open compared with over 2,000 in 2008.
The island is suffering through a severe debt crisis, which has hampered basic government services.
