(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
No, Hillary Clinton did not need to win the California primary; she’s already amassed enough superdelegates to secure the nomination, as the Associated Press reported yesterday.
But this lead still matters, if not for an aggregate, then for morale. As Jared Keller wrote yesterday, “Even if it’s mathematically meaningless, Clinton can’t afford a loss in California going into what’s sure to be a hotly contested convention.” After what’s been a damagingly bitter primary for the Democratic party, and with what looks to be a tight general election against Donald Trump (and an increasingly Trump-tolerant Republican party) to come, Clinton couldn’t bear another media narrative centered on her inability to corral voters.
Thankfully for her, that’s exactly the fate she’s avoiding.
