Hillary Clinton has secured the delegates she needs to become the Democratic Party nominee for President, according to reports.
Associated Press (AP) says the delegates Ms Clinton has won during the party's primary campaign, plus superdelegates who have pledged support for her, take her above the 2383 required to be guaranteed the nomination.
Superdelegates are party insiders who can vote for whoever they want, regardless of how party members cast their ballots.
"Now the presumptive nominee, she will formally accept her party's nomination in July at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia," the AP said in a newsflash.
If confirmed, Ms Clinton will be first female Presidential candidate offered up by either the Democrats or the Republicans.
She played down AP's forecast, saying there were a number of primary contests still to win.
The confirmed delegate vote count so far is 1812 for Ms Clinton and 1521 for opponent Bernie Sanders. According to the Associated Press, Ms Clinton has the votes of 571 superdelegates, while Mr Sanders has only 48.
The delegate count isn't far off the raw vote, which has Ms Clinton winning the support of almost 13 million Democrats to Ms Sanders' almost 10 million.
Both major US political parties in the past have unsuccessfully nominated women for Vice-President. The Republicans in 2008 nominated Sarah Palin, who ran with John McCain, while in 1984 Geraldine Ferraro ran for the Democrats, with Walter Mondale.
Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee for the Republicans, having won the necessary delegates during the primary campaign.
Newshub.
