Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that her primary wins in North Carolina, Florida and Ohio show she’s on the cusp of winning the Democratic nomination, and said she’s ready to do battle with Donald Trump.
“Although we’re waiting for final results in Illinois, in Missouri, we know we will add to our delegates lead to roughly 300, with over 2 million more votes nationwide. We are moving closer to securing the Democratic Party nomination and winning this election in November,” Clinton told supporters in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is expected to run very close races with Clinton in both Missouri and Illinois, as those states have large white populations and many of the voters subscribe to Sanders’ economic populist message.
While Clinton briefly congratulated the Sanders campaign, as she always does on primary evenings, she quickly pivoted her focus to the general election, warning supporters that “this may be one of the most consequential campaigns of our lifetimes.”
“Our commander in chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it. Engage our allies, not alienate them. Defeat our adversaries, not embolden them,” Clinton said, after mentioning her own foreign policy experience. “You know, to be great, we can’t be small. We can’t lose what made America great in the first place, and this isn’t just about Donald Trump. All of us have to do our part.”
As the Clinton campaign goes forward, they lead Sanders by hundreds of delegates, not including super delegates. Sanders at this point would have to pull numerous large upsets in order to surpass the former Secretary of State in delegates.
