It's Surprising How Many Delegates Clinton Has

On Monday night, the Associated Press called the Democratic primary for Hillary Clinton. Although several states have yet to vote in the primary, most notably New Jersey and California, an AP count determined that Clinton had secured enough combined support from delegates and superdelegates to bring her past the magic number needed to clinch the nomination. But exactly how many total delegates does Clinton have right now?

According to AP, Clinton has 2,383 delegates — exactly the number needed to win the nomination. Clinton won 1,812 pledged delegates in the primaries and caucuses; in addition, 571 superdelegates will reportedly vote for her at the convention. Over the weekend, Clinton won the Puerto Rico primary, and according to AP, she received a "burst of last-minute superdelegate support" around the same time. These two events, in conjunction, brought her delegate total to 2,383.

A few notes about Clinton's superdelegates. Unlike her pledged delegates, they're not required to vote for her at the convention. They can change their minds at any time. In this sense, the 571 superdelegates who have committed to Clinton aren't set in stone; per the rules of the Democratic Party, they're allowed to change their minds and vote for Bernie Sanders at the convention instead. However, AP surveyed all 714 superdelegates and determined that 571 of them will be voting for Clinton.

Interestingly, Clinton and Sanders both reacted to AP's call by urging everyone to wait until the Tuesday primaries before declaring anybody the victor.

"This is an important milestone, but there are six states that are voting Tuesday, with millions of people headed to the polls, and Hillary Clinton is working to earn every vote," Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement. "We look forward to Tuesday night, when Hillary Clinton will clinch not only a win in the popular vote, but also the majority of pledged delegates."

Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs also voiced skepticism at AP's call, and confirmed that Sanders will be try to convince superdelegates to change their minds.

"Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination," Briggs said. "She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then...Our job from now until the convention is to convince those superdelegates that Bernie is by far the strongest candidate against Donald Trump.”