UNITED States of America Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders now turn their attention to the final stretch of the nominating contest after each picked up wins Tuesday as they vie to represent their party in the November race for the White House.
The Democratic primary — which has stretched longer than most anticipated — hits a slow period until June 7, when the next contests will be held, including the delegate heavy states of California and New Jersey.
The divided outcome Tuesday in Kentucky and Oregon means Clinton won’t yet be able to turn all of her attention to the general election and taking on presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who locked up his party’s nomination after the rest of his rivals dropped out in early May.
Clinton narrowly defeated Sanders in Kentucky, a state where she was not expected to be victorious. Sanders bested her in Oregon, a state that played to his strengths.
In Kentucky, the two candidates will likely split the 55 delegates up for grabs. In Oregon, Sanders will take only a handful more of the 61 delegates that were awarded.
Clinton’s lead in delegates means it is likely she will eventually be her party’s nominee, but she remains more than 100 delegates short of sealing the deal.
Trump has begun to organize his general election campaign. On Tuesday, he signed a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee. The agreement allows him to raise $449,400 from a single donor by splitting the funds between his campaign, the RNC and state Republican parties.
Trump, who eschewed donations in the political system through the primary, has thus far insisted on mostly self-funding his campaign. The shift to a more traditional fundraising approach could draw ire from some of his supporters.
Trump, in an interview with Megyn Kelly that aired on Fox News Tuesday night, said he did have regrets about his actions during the Republican primary process.
“I could have used different language in a couple of instances, but overall I’m happy with the outcome,” Trump said.
