Story highlights Clinton takes Kentucky, Sanders will win Oregon

Trump edges closer to magic number of 1,237 delegates

(CNN) Hillary Clinton got the win she badly needed — just barely.

It took a last-minute campaign blitz and a significant financial investment for Clinton to win the Kentucky Democratic primary by half a percentage point over her stubborn primary foe Bernie Sanders — in a state she won by 35 percentage points over Barack Obama in their 2008 primary clash and where her family has deep political roots going back decades.

Sanders, after racing Clinton right up to the finish line in the Bluegrass State, easily won the Oregon primary, and declared at a raucous rally in California that despite pressure from the Clinton campaign to abandon his quest for the nomination, he would stay in the race "until the last ballot is cast." His speech did little to soothe escalating tensions between the Democratic campaigns.

Clinton did not appear in public on Tuesday night, but her campaign tweeted thanks to the people of Kentucky and said "we're always stronger united."

We just won Kentucky! Thanks to everyone who turned out. We're always stronger united. https://t.co/8qYPHIje8I pic.twitter.com/elNUP4nFoO — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 18, 2016

In the end, Tuesday's political drama didn't measurably alter the state of the Democratic primary. Sanders is poised to walk away with more delegates than Clinton from the night. But Clinton maintains an overall lead of roughly 280 pledged delegates with only one significant night remaining in the contest — June 7, when, win or lose the states in play that night, she is expected to formally clinch the nomination after voters in delegate-rich California and New Jersey weigh in.

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