2016 US.Presidential election update: Sanders wins Oregon primary, deadlocked with Clinton in Kentucky
Kentucky, a split decision that will likely keep their contest going into July's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
With 67 percent of precincts reporting in Oregon, Sanders led Clinton 53 percent to 47 percent, a difference of just over 26,000 votes.
“We just won Oregon, and we’re going to win California,” the Vermont senator told supporters in Carson, Calif., where he vowed to “fight” in the Golden State's June 7 primary and through to the party’s July nominating convention.
"I am getting to like the West Coast," Sanders added, referencing his victory in the Washington state caucus in late March. The self-described socialist's victory in Oregon was his 21st of the election cycle and his 11th in the past 14 contests. The win also broke Sanders' string of eight straight losses in so-called "closed primaries".
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting in Kentucky, Clinton led Sanders by just over 1,900 votes out of more than 423,000 that were cast. Though the race remained too close for the Associated Press to call, the Clinton campaign claimed victory in the commonwealth late Tuesday.
We just won Kentucky! Thanks to everyone who turned out. We’re always stronger united. hrc.io/1swOL50pic.twitter.com/elNUP4nFoO
The Kentucky Secretary of State's office reported that Clinton led Sanders 46.8 percent to 46.3 percent with 100 percent of the votes in. The Sanders campaign did not immediately say whether it will challenge the results in Kentucky, which does not have an automatic recount.
Clinton was expected to perform well in Kentucky, having soundly defeated Barack Obama there in 2008, and limited polling showed her with a double-digit lead before Tuesday. However, comments in March that her renewable energy plan was “going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” likely hurt her in eastern Kentucky.
The outcomes did not dramatically change the Democratic delegate count and the former secretary of state remains on track to clinch the nomination on June 7 in the New Jersey primary.
According to an Associated Press tally, Clinton and Sanders each received at least 27 of Kentucky's 55 Democratic delegates, with one delegate to be awarded to the statewide winner. In Oregon, Sanders had won at least 28 of the Beaver State's 61 Democratic delegates, with Clinton winning at least 24 and nine other delegates outstanding.
Tuesday's Democratic primaries also took place amid new questions about party unity following a divisive weekend state party convention in Nevada. Supporters of Sanders tossed chairs and made death threats against the Nevada party chairwoman at the event in Las Vegas, arguing the party leadership rigged the results of the convention in favor of Clinton.
In a sign of the tensions between the two sides, Sanders issued a defiant statement Tuesday dismissing complaints from Nevada Democrats as "nonsense" and said his supporters were not being treated with "fairness and respect."
In California, Sanders urged the party to be welcoming to voters who are "prepared to fight for real economic and social change." Addressing the party's leadership, Sanders declared, "Open the doors, let the people in."
Clinton currently has 2,291 pledged delegates and superdelegates to Sanders' 1,528. She requires 2,383 delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.
In Oregon's Republican primary, presumptive nominee Donald Trump faced no active opposition in winning 67 percent of the vote. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz received 17 and 16 percent of the vote respectively, as just over 89,000 ballots were cast for Trump's former rivals.
Trump won at least 17 of Oregon's 28 Republican delegates, with Cruz and Kasich each receiving at least three and five other delegates outstanding. The real estate mogul now has 1,160 delegates, just 77 away from the threshold needed to clinch the GOP nomination.
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