With Hillary already having proclaimed herself as the democratic nominee last night, NBC News just projected Hillary Clinton the winner of the California primary.
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BREAKING: Hillary Clinton is the projected winner in California Dem primary https://t.co/d6eXWoZsRm #Decision2016 pic.twitter.com/P20kziZ0Tm
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 8, 2016
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With 91.7% reporting, Hillary Clinton was leading by a margin of 56% to 43% when Clinton was declared the winner.
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Clinton picks up 67 delegates so far while Sanders will gain one delegate, the wire service projected.
The polls closed at 8 p.m. Pacific Time Tuesday night, but the state is known for a relatively slow count of ballots thanks in part to its massive size.
The Golden State is the largest delegate prize in the entire race — the winner will receive the majority of the state's 475 delegates.
But the final result will have little effect on the contours of the race. Hillary Clinton came into Tuesday with enough delegates, thanks to party superdelegates, to secure the Democratic nomination, and the AP declared her the de facto nominee on Monday night.
She will finish Tuesday's primaries with the majority of pledged delegates, those awarded through primary results, according to NBC News.
Polls leading up to the California primary showed a tight race. Clinton held a slight lead, but the two candidates sat within the margin of error in most recent polls. The win gives Clinton a strong victory that will serve as icing on the cake after a historic night for her campaign.
"Thanks to you, we have reached a milestone. We all owe so much to who came before" Clinton said thanking supporters. Hillary will now try to win over loyal Sanders' supporters by unifying the party against Donald Trump.
"The stakes in this election are high and the choice is clear. Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander-in-chief. When Donald Trump says a distinguished judge born in Indiana can't do his job because of his Mexican heritage, or he mocks a reporter with disabilities, or calls women pigs, it goes against everything we stand for" Clinton said.
For the Sanders camp, there are few options left, and it remains to be seen what happens after Sanders meets with president Obama on Thursday. Although pressure will be mounting for Sanders to exit the race so the Democrats can focus solely on Trump, Bernie Sanders - for now - has vowed that the race will go on.
"Next Tuesday, we continue the fight in the last primary in Washington, DC" Sanders said to supporters last night in Santa Monica, California. "And then we take our fight for social, economic, racial, and environmental justice to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania" Sanders added.
"Thank you all, the struggle continues" Is how Bernie closed to a roaring crowd before leaving the stage.