National

Donald Trump says it's an 'honor' to win West Virginia, Nebraska

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the 2016 presidential campaign (all times local):

10:14 p.m.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump calls it a “great honor” to win primary elections in West Virginia and Nebraska.

The billionaire businessman says in a statement after Tuesday’s elections that his time campaigning in both states was a wonderful and “enlightening” experience.

Trump says, “I learned a lot, and that knowledge will be put to good use towards the creation of businesses, jobs and the strengthening and revival of their economies.”

Trump says he plans to return to both states soon, and win them in the general election this November.

9:49 p.m.

Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential primary in Nebraska, but it’s a victory for the Democratic front-runner that won’t get her any closer to clinching her party’s nomination.

That’s because Nebraska allocated all 25 of its delegates to this summer’s Democratic National Convention in a caucus held on March 5 that was won by the Vermont senator.

He took home 15 delegates from that caucus, while Clinton won 10.

Earlier Tuesday, Sanders won the Democratic primary in West Virginia.

But even with that win, he’s far behind Clinton in the all-important delegate count.

When including the party officials known as superdelegates who can back any candidate, Clinton has 2,238 delegates — or 94 percent of the 2,383 needed to win. Sanders has 1,468.

9:32 p.m.

Bernie Sanders can claim another state win in West Virginia, but it isn’t really improving the tough delegate math against him.

He now has won 19 states to Hillary Clinton’s 23.

But the total pool of West Virginia delegates at stake is small at 29. And because Democrats award delegates in proportion to the vote, Sanders will receive at least 14 while Clinton will gain at least 10. Five delegates remain to be allocated, pending final vote tallies.

Based on primaries and caucuses to date, Sanders has 1,429 delegates to Clinton’s 1,715. He still needs to win 66 percent of the remaining delegates to overtake Clinton in the remaining primary and caucuses.

When including the party officials known as superdelegates who can back any candidate, Clinton maintains her formidable lead.

She has 2,238, or 94 percent of the 2,383 needed to win the nomination. Sanders has 1,468.

9:24 p.m.

Bernie Sanders has added another state to his tally against Hillary Clinton with a win in West Virginia, but it’s a victory that will do little to slow his rival’s steady march toward the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton entered the night fewer than 200 delegates shy of the 2,383 she needs to secure the nomination. To win it, she needs just 17 percent of the delegates at stake in the remaining contests.

That means she could lose all the states left to vote by a landslide and still emerge as the nominee, so long as all of her supporters among the party insiders known as superdelegates continue to back her.

Clinton has already largely shifted her focus to the general election and the presumptive GOP nominee, Donald Trump.

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9:06 p.m.

Donald Trump has picked up all 36 delegates available in Nebraska’s Republican presidential primary, giving him 89 percent of the delegates needed to win the GOP’s nomination for president.

Trump is the only candidate left in the race and is the party’s presumptive nominee, although other candidates were still listed on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary elections in Nebraska and West Virginia.

The billionaire businessman won at least three delegates in West Virginia. The other 31 delegates in West Virginia are elected directly by voters. Their names appear on the ballot, along with the presidential candidate they support.

9 p.m.

Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in Nebraska, a second victory in Tuesday’s elections for the presumptive GOP nominee.

Among his backers in the state was Don Fricke, a 76-year-old dentist from Lincoln. He says he voted for Trump because the billionaire businessman is a political outsider.

Fricke says he wants a candidate who will work to lower taxes and defend the country by strengthening the military, and he sees those qualities in Trump.

He adds that he thinks Trump has “a very good chance” against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the general election. Fricke says of Clinton, “Hillary’s got too much baggage.”

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8:02 p.m.

Donald Trump’s victory in West Virginia means he will get at least three delegates.

The 31 other delegates in West Virginia are elected directly by voters. Their names appear on the ballot, along with the presidential candidate they support.

Republican voters are also going to the polls in Nebraska on Tuesday. Nebraska will award all 36 of its delegates to the statewide winner.

With 1,071 delegates, Trump has 87 percent of the delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for president. With no major rivals left in the race, he is already the party’s presumptive nominee.

7:48 p.m.

Donald Trump’s campaign says a computer problem resulted in a prominent white nationalist being included on a list of his potential California delegates.

The campaign says the name has been withdrawn and a corrected list resubmitted to state officials.

Trump’s California director, Tim Clark, says in a statement Tuesday that a “database error” was at fault.

The campaign says potential delegate William Johnson had been rejected and removed from the campaign’s list in February.

Johnson’s appearance on the list was first reported by Mother Jones magazine.

Johnson is a Trump supporter who tells The Associated Press that he received an email from Clark earlier Tuesday informing him that his name had been “erroneously listed” as a delegate.

In California, Republican candidates pick potential delegates to the GOP’s summer convention. They are selected based on the outcome of voting in the state’s June 7 primary.

7:30 p.m.

Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in West Virginia, adding to his claim on the GOP’s nomination.

The billionaire businessman became the party’s presumptive nominee after his victory last week in Indiana, which led his last remaining rivals to drop out of the race.

Anne Ashley is a 66-year-old substitute teacher’s aide from Scott Depot, West Virginia. She and her husband Jim say they were supporters of one of those former rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

On Tuesday, they voted for Trump.

Anne Ashley says she thinks Trump is “becoming more aware of the gravity of becoming president and becoming more composed.”

Jim Ashley says now that Trump is the presumptive nominee, it’s time for him to unify the Republican Party and to bring other candidates that ran against him into the fold. He says Trump “thinks ‘I can do it on my own,‘ but he’s wrong.”

6:41 p.m.

Hillary Clinton predicts Republicans will “throw everything including the kitchen sink at me” in the general election, but the Democratic front-runner has a message for them.

She says, “They’ve done it for 25 years and I’m still standing.”

Clinton says at a campaign event in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday that she looks forward to debating presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Clinton is urging Kentucky voters to “have a big vote” next week in the state’s presidential primary to help her campaign “get ready to go all the way to November.”

Clinton was rallying supporters in Louisville shortly before the polls were closing in West Virginia’s primary. She made no mention of the West Virginia race, where she faces Democratic rival Bernie Sanders.

5:50 p.m.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to appear later this week at a fundraiser for Republicans on Long Island.

Trump is headlining the Nassau County Republican Committee’s annual “Patriots Reception” on Wednesday. Tickets to the event are $200 each.

The fundraiser was scheduled before Trump took control of the nomination process with a win last week in Indiana.

It comes amid negotiations between the celebrity businessman and the Republican National Committee about fundraising for the general election.

To this point, Trump has self-funded much of his campaign. He told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he’s leaning against accepting public financing of his campaign.

5:27 p.m.

Many West Virginians voting in the state’s presidential primary say they see the economy as the top issue facing the country, and they think trade is costing America jobs.

More than half of West Virginia Republicans and nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters casting ballots on Tuesday say the economy is the top issue facing the country.

That’s according to early findings from exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.

In the West Virginia Democratic primary, 7 in 10 say they’re very worried about the economy and another 2 in 10 say they’re somewhat worried.

Majorities of voters in both primaries say trade with other countries mostly takes jobs from American workers.

5:12 p.m.

West Virginia is holding a Democratic primary election on Tuesday, but a significant portion of voters choosing between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders say they don’t identify as Democrats.

About 4 in 10 voters in the state’s Democratic primary say they consider themselves to be an independent or Republican. That’s according to early findings from exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.

Among those voting in West Virginia’s Democratic primary, about a third say they would support presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump over either Clinton or Sanders in November’s general election.

An additional 2 in 10 say they wouldn’t vote for Trump, Clinton or Sanders this fall.

5:05 p.m.

GOP runner-up Ted Cruz has returned to the Senate, promising to roll up his sleeves and take on “the issues that were the heart of our presidential campaign.”

What the Texas Republican is yet unwilling to promise is an endorsement of presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

Asked about endorsing Trump, Cruz said: “What I am interested in supporting are free-market principles and the constitutional liberties of America.”

Cruz addressed a media throng outside his Senate office Tuesday afternoon before being greeted by an ovation from his staff.

He is widely unpopular among his Senate colleagues. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was asked whether he’s going to be working more closely with Cruz than he has in the past. McConnell replied, I’m happy to have him back and you ought to ask him that.”

4:40 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump would lead a “race to the bottom” on the economy, to the detriment of working families.

Clinton knocked Trump at a Tuesday campaign event in Louisville, Kentucky, saying that Trump has argued Americans are being paid too much and has talked about getting rid of the federal minimum wage.

The Democratic presidential candidate says Trump would leave the minimum wage “to the mercy of Republican governors.”

Clinton made no mention of Democratic rival Bernie Sanders hours before polls close in West Virginia’s Democratic primary.

She says with Trump, “you would see a race to the bottom across our country with working families paying the price.”

The former secretary of state outlined steps during her visit to Kentucky to help workers pay for child care.

4:25 p.m.

Donald Trump says he’s narrowed his list of potential running mates to “five or six people,” all with deep political resumes.

In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said he has not ruled out New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — a former rival who has embraced the billionaire’s campaign with gusto.

Trump says said he’s prioritizing political experience, because he wants a vice president to help him “with legislation, getting things through” Washington if he wins the White House.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer are among the Republicans who have suggested they would be open to joining Trump on the GOP ticket.

Others have ruled out being considered, including Trump’s former primary rival, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

4 p.m.

Vice President Joe Biden is predicting that Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic Party’s nomination and says he feels confident that she’ll be the next president.

Biden’s remarks come in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that will be broadcast later Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Biden’s comments go further than President Barack Obama has in predicting the outcome of the Democratic primary. Obama has offered no predictions and says that the process should be allowed to play itself out.

Clinton is engaged in a tougher-than-expected primary with Sen. Bernie Sanders, though she is nearing winning the total number of delegates needed to secure the nomination.

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