Hillary Clinton squeaks out Kentucky primary win, halts Bernie Sanders' momentum

Updated
NBC: Clinton apparent winner in KY primary
NBC: Clinton apparent winner in KY primary

Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary on Tuesday, NBC News projected, avoiding another messy loss to challenger Bernie Sanders and moving closer to clinching the Democratic nomination.

The Kentucky Democratic contest was mostly symbolic as delegates were awarded proportionally, with about half going to each candidate. But it was an important win for Clinton who, despite having essentially locked the primary contest weeks ago, has been forced to deal with a string of embarrassing primary wins by Sanders, including Indiana and West Virginia earlier this month.

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Democrats also held a primary on Tuesday in Oregon, where 74 delegates are at stake. Results are not expected right away because the state adopted a new vote-by-mail system.

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Tensions emerged between Clinton and Sanders after a divisive weekend state party convention in Nevada, where Sanders supporters in Las Vegas tossed chairs and made death threats against the Nevada party chairwoman, claiming that the party rigged the results of the convention in Clinton's favor.

The former secretary of state entered Tuesday's primary race with a commanding lead of close to 300 pledged delegates over Sanders, not including superdelegates. Clinton already has an insurmountable lead in the delegate race, with 2,240 delegates to Sanders' 1,437. She'll need 2,383 to officially clinch the party's nomination.

Meanwhile on the Republican side, 28 delegates are up for grabs in Oregon, where Trump ran uncontested. Trump is on par to secure the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination, winning 1,134 delegates so far.

Read original story Hillary Clinton Squeaks Out Kentucky Primary Win, Halts Bernie Sanders' Momentum At TheWrap

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