Washington: Hillary Clinton crushed her rival Bernie Sanders in the Democratic party’s last presidential primary here in the US capital, setting the stage for an epic race against controversial Republican opponent Donald Trump in November.
Clinton, 68, a former Secretary of State and a former Senator from New York, is the first women to become a presidential candidate of a major political party in US electoral history. Clinton received 78.9 per cent of the votes while Sanders could garner only 21.1 per cent.
The result heralds the start of an epic race to the White House between Clinton and brash real estate tycoon Trump who celebrated his 70th birthday on Wednesday. “We just won Washington, DC ! Grateful to everyone who voted,” Clinton tweeted though Sanders is yet to drop out of the race as the two met today.
Clinton secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination last week, but Sanders declined to drop out and pledged to give every voter a chance to decide between the two candidates.
Sanders privately met Clinton at the Capital Hilton, just after she won the final contest on the Democratic calendar.
The meeting came as the Vermont senator has begun signalling that his campaign is soon to close, though Sanders’ aides say he is not expected to immediately endorse Clinton.
