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| US election 2016: Hillary Clinton prepares to shatter 'hardest, highest' glass ceiling as polls close in final primary states | US election 2016: Hillary Clinton prepares to shatter 'hardest, highest' glass ceiling as polls close in final primary states |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| As she conceded defeat to Barack Obama at the end of a long and gruelling primary season in 2008, Hillary Clinton expressed regret that she had been unable to “shatter that highest and hardest glass ceiling”, the presidential nomination. With the polls closing in the last of the 2016 primary states, she is ready to break through it at last. | |
| Drowned out by the din of Donald Trump and her increasingly boisterous Democratic battle with Bernie Sanders, the significance of the moment has been muted. But it is historic nonetheless: the former Secretary of State will be the first woman ever to contest a presidential election at the head of a major US political party. | Drowned out by the din of Donald Trump and her increasingly boisterous Democratic battle with Bernie Sanders, the significance of the moment has been muted. But it is historic nonetheless: the former Secretary of State will be the first woman ever to contest a presidential election at the head of a major US political party. |
| With 694 delegates still to play for in Tuesday’s primaries in New Jersey, California, New Mexico, Montana and the Dakotas, the Associated Press reported on Monday that Ms Clinton had already passed the threshold of 2,383 needed to claim the nomination. | With 694 delegates still to play for in Tuesday’s primaries in New Jersey, California, New Mexico, Montana and the Dakotas, the Associated Press reported on Monday that Ms Clinton had already passed the threshold of 2,383 needed to claim the nomination. |
| That total comprised delegates from primaries and caucuses, as well as superdelegates who will cast their votes at the Democratic convention in July, and who told the news agency they were already set on supporting Ms Clinton. The report caused outrage in the Sanders camp, which decried the media’s “rush to judgement” and pointed out that superdelegates “do not vote until July 25 and… can change their minds between now and then.” | That total comprised delegates from primaries and caucuses, as well as superdelegates who will cast their votes at the Democratic convention in July, and who told the news agency they were already set on supporting Ms Clinton. The report caused outrage in the Sanders camp, which decried the media’s “rush to judgement” and pointed out that superdelegates “do not vote until July 25 and… can change their minds between now and then.” |
| In recent weeks, Mr Sanders has staked his campaign on the result in California, closing the poll gap in the Golden State to within the margin of error. He has promised to contest the party convention in Philadelphia, regardless of the final primary results. But even a slim win in the nation’s most populous state will do little to change the eventual outcome of the race. | In recent weeks, Mr Sanders has staked his campaign on the result in California, closing the poll gap in the Golden State to within the margin of error. He has promised to contest the party convention in Philadelphia, regardless of the final primary results. But even a slim win in the nation’s most populous state will do little to change the eventual outcome of the race. |
| Going into this week, Ms Clinton was ahead of Mr Sanders by several states, close to 300 pledged delegates and some three million individual votes. The Vermont Senator’s closing pitch to superdelegates is that speculative polls show him performing better than Ms Clinton against Mr Trump in a general election match-up. That argument will likely fall on deaf ears. | Going into this week, Ms Clinton was ahead of Mr Sanders by several states, close to 300 pledged delegates and some three million individual votes. The Vermont Senator’s closing pitch to superdelegates is that speculative polls show him performing better than Ms Clinton against Mr Trump in a general election match-up. That argument will likely fall on deaf ears. |
| As she launched her campaign a year ago, faced with a ragbag of little-known competitors, Ms Clinton could have been forgiven for expecting a coronation. But while former governors such as Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee failed to capture voters’ imaginations, it was Mr Sanders, a 74-year-old self-described socialist, who unexpectedly mounted the most resonant and resilient challenge to Ms Clinton – and to the status quo. | As she launched her campaign a year ago, faced with a ragbag of little-known competitors, Ms Clinton could have been forgiven for expecting a coronation. But while former governors such as Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee failed to capture voters’ imaginations, it was Mr Sanders, a 74-year-old self-described socialist, who unexpectedly mounted the most resonant and resilient challenge to Ms Clinton – and to the status quo. |
| Mr Sanders only joined the Democratic party in 2015 after decades as an independent, and was at first considered little more than a protest candidate. But his revolutionary message quickly drew a loyal following that continued to grow as the race ground on. With a fundraising machine forged on social media, he was able to spend more than $200m on a campaign that has forced the front-runner and the Democratic establishment to the left on economic issues. | Mr Sanders only joined the Democratic party in 2015 after decades as an independent, and was at first considered little more than a protest candidate. But his revolutionary message quickly drew a loyal following that continued to grow as the race ground on. With a fundraising machine forged on social media, he was able to spend more than $200m on a campaign that has forced the front-runner and the Democratic establishment to the left on economic issues. |
| The strength of the Sanders surge means that, even in defeat, his campaign has secured major concessions from the party, including five seats on the 15-person convention platform committee, which authors the Democratic policy platform for the general election. | The strength of the Sanders surge means that, even in defeat, his campaign has secured major concessions from the party, including five seats on the 15-person convention platform committee, which authors the Democratic policy platform for the general election. |
| But while the Vermont Senator has consistently outperformed Ms Clinton among younger voters and independents, he was unable to break her deep ties with the African-American community, particularly in the early voting states of the Deep South. Ms Clinton also overshadowed the outsider in several major states with large Hispanic populations, such as New York, Texas and Florida. | But while the Vermont Senator has consistently outperformed Ms Clinton among younger voters and independents, he was unable to break her deep ties with the African-American community, particularly in the early voting states of the Deep South. Ms Clinton also overshadowed the outsider in several major states with large Hispanic populations, such as New York, Texas and Florida. |
| The former Secretary of State has already pivoted to a general election strategy, most pointedly with a devastating attack on Mr Trump’s foreign policy, delivered on stage in San Diego last week, in which she characterised the presumptive GOP nominee’s national security ideas as a series of “bizarre rants, personal feuds and outright lies.” | The former Secretary of State has already pivoted to a general election strategy, most pointedly with a devastating attack on Mr Trump’s foreign policy, delivered on stage in San Diego last week, in which she characterised the presumptive GOP nominee’s national security ideas as a series of “bizarre rants, personal feuds and outright lies.” |
| Ms Clinton has multiple weaknesses as a general election candidate: some of her supporters fear the spectre of past scandals, while liberal opponents are suspicious of her centrist policy record, particularly in foreign affairs. Ms Clinton herself concedes that she is “not a natural politician” like her husband, Bill Clinton, or her former foe, President Obama. Her candidacy is historic in more than one way – she has higher unfavourable poll ratings than any previous nominee in recent memory. | |
| But concerned Democrats can seek consolation in another fact: Donald Trump’s unfavourables are higher still. | But concerned Democrats can seek consolation in another fact: Donald Trump’s unfavourables are higher still. |