Clinton: ‘There is no way I won’t be’ nominee

Hillary Clinton thinks the race for the Democratic nomination is all but over, telling CNN Thursday there’s “no way” she won’t be the party’s presidential nominee. 

{mosads}”I will be the nominee for my party, Chris. That is already done in effect. There is no way I won’t be,” the former first lady told CNN’s Chris Cuomo. 

Clinton called her delegate lead over rival Bernie Sanders “insurmountable” and said she expects him to unite behind her and rally his supporters to take on Donald Trump once she clinches the nomination. 

“When I came out and withdrew and endorsed Sen. Obama, about 40 percent of my supporters said they would never support him, so I worked really hard to make the case, as I’m sure Sen. Sanders will,” Clinton said. “Whatever differences we may have, they pale in comparison to the presumptive nominee of the Republican party.” 

She made the comments amid increasing fury between Sanders supporters and the Democratic Party that have sparked fears among Washington Democrats about whether the party will come together around Clinton. 

Tensions erupted at the Nevada State Democratic Convention over the weekend, as supporters of Sanders shouted Clinton supporter Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) off-stage. The Sanders backers were angry that petitions they’d presented for rules changes to the convention were not considered. 

The chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party received death threats and obscene messages on her voicemail from people angered by what had happend.

The Democratic National Committee and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blamed the incident on Sanders supporters and called on the Vermont senator to step in. Sanders has been defiant, releasing a statement that condemned any violence but largely blamed the Democratic Party.

Sanders has little hope of defeating Clinton in the delegate race but has insisted he could make a comeback by winning California’s primary on June 7.

Clinton currently leads Sanders by 274 pledged delegates. Including superdelegates, she is 760 delegates ahead of Sanders and just 90 delegates away from the 2,383 needed to clinch the party’s presidential nomination. 

Sanders hopes to close the gap in pledged delegates in California and New Jersey and sway superdelegates — party leaders who can back any candidate — to support him over Clinton.