Hillary Clinton's hopes of shutting Bernie Sanders down by beating him in Indiana were dashed Tuesday night.

With most of the vote tallied, the U.S. senator was six per cent ahead of the former secretary of state and was awarded the coveted checkmark that designates the winner of a given state.

Sanders was in the lead with 53 percent to Clinton's 47 percent after a running start from Clinton quickly turned into a sputter.

'I sense a great deal of momentum. I sense some great victories coming,' he said during a hastily convened news conference in New Albany, Indiana.

Acknowledging the state of the race, Sanders said: 'I think that while the path is narrow, and I do not deny that for a moment.'

But he said: 'I think we can pull off one of the great political upsets in the history of the United States and in fact become the nominee for the Democratic Party. And then once we secure that position, I have absolute confidence that we are going to defeat Donald Trump.'

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Back from the brink: Bernie Sanders spoke at a rally in Kentucky tonight before the Hoosier State was called for him. He later said: 'I sense a great deal of momentum. I sense some great victories coming'

Hillary Clinton's hopes of shutting Sanders down by beating him in Indiana were dashed tonight when he won by six percent - giving him the juice to keep going even though the numbers indicate he can't win

Sanders rallied his supporters tonight in Louisville, Kentucky as the state votes two weeks ahead on Tuesday. He dashed back over the state line to hold a press conference in Indiana once he won the primary

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Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee tonight after Ted Cruz dropped his bid following a spectacular loss in the Hoosier State that eliminated what he saw as viable path to the Cleveland convention.

Hillary Clinton did not comment on the results of the Indiana Democratic primary, however campaign staff sent out a tweet on her behalf asking for the funds she needs to keep him from winning the White House.

The Clinton campaign also sent out a statement from chairman John Podesta disparaging Trump.

Podesta said the ex-reality TV star will neither 'keep our nation safe in a dangerous world' nor 'help working families get ahead here at home.'

'Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he’s too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world,' said Podesta, a former adviser to both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

'With so much at stake, Donald Trump is simply too big of a risk. Hillary Clinton has proven that she has the strength to keep us safe in an uncertain world and a lifelong record of fighting to break down the barriers--economic and social--that hold working families back.'

He added, 'While Donald Trump seeks to bully and divide Americans, Hillary Clinton will unite us to create an economy that works for everyone.'

Sanders resisted a reporter's attempt tonight to get him to assassinate Trump's character by calling him a racist.

He instead pointed out that the Republican businessman has insulted Mexicans, Muslims, women and other demographic groups and spearheaded the birther movement.

'I'll let...the American people decide the appropriate label,' Sanders said at his press conference.

Unsolicited, he proceeded to denounce the probable GOP nominee on related grounds as 'a man that does have the demeanor, does not have the policy background or the ideas to become President of the United States.'

'I would love to run against him, and I'm absolutely confident that not only would we beat him, but we'd beat him by a pretty large number,' Sanders said, drawing on polling that generally support assessment of the general election.

Acknowledging the state of the race, Sanders said: 'I think we can pull off one of the great political upsets in the history of the United States and in fact become the nominee for the Democratic Party'

If the victory was bitter sweet for Sanders as he defeated Clinton but with far fewer votes than he'd deemed necessary to keep his campaign on track, he did not show it tonight as he disparaged the media for saying it cannot be done

Sanders greets supporters outside the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library tonight after winning Indiana

His sights on the newly anointed Republican tonight, Sanders has the difficult task over the next week of convincing prospective voters he still has the ability to become the Democratic nominee.

Hoosier State delegates will be distributed proportionally to the two Democrats and Sanders needed a tidal wave of support tonight to fulfill his own highly-publicized explanation of how he will overtake Clinton.

If the victory was bitter sweet for Sanders as he defeated Clinton but with far fewer votes than he'd deemed necessary to keep his campaign on track, he did not show it as he spoke to reporters.

Shortly afterward his campaign sent out a statement reaffirming his remarks and predicting 'more victories in the weeks to come.'

'The Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They’re wrong. Maybe it’s over for the insiders and the party establishment, but the voters in Indiana had a different idea,' Sanders said.

'The campaign wasn’t over for them. It isn’t over for the voters in West Virginia. It isn’t over for Democrats in Oregon, New Jersey and Kentucky. It isn’t over for voters in California and all the other states with contests still to come.'

The senator again said, as he did in the days leading up to Indiana, that he has an 'uphill climb to victory.' However, he argued, he and his supporters 'have been fighting uphill from the first day of this campaign.'

'We are in this campaign to win and we’re going to fight until the last vote is cast,' he stated. 'There is nothing I would like more than to take on and defeat Donald Trump, someone who must never become president of this country.'

Sanders needed to win Indiana with a floor of 65 percent to have a plausible path forward in the race by his own admission, and he did not do that. He's seen here tonight with his wife Jane in Kentucky looking glum before he found out he was the winner of Indiana

The self-proclaimed democratic socialist intended to stay in the race regardless of tonight's results in order to promote his political revolution and force his party leftward. But the victory in Indiana was most certainly music to the ears of his campaign, which raised $20 million less last month than the month prior

The self-proclaimed democratic socialist intended to stay in the race regardless of tonight's results in order to promote his political revolution and force his party leftward.

But the victory in Indiana was most certainly music to the ears of his campaign, which raised $20 million less last month than the month prior and had to lay off much of its staff.

'Every victory we earn is extraordinarily important for our political revolution,' Sanders told his backers tonight in a fundraising email. 'Not just because of the delegates we earn, but because each win and all the work that goes into that effort sends an unmistakable message to the establishment of this country that we will never stop fighting for the values we share.'

He concluded the note by saying, 'I am in this fight through the Democratic convention. Thank you for standing with me.'

Sanders needed to win Indiana with a floor of 65 percent to have a plausible path forward by his own admission and he fell more than 10 percent short of meeting it.

Sunday on Face the Nation he proclaimed, 'We think we have a chance to win the majority of pledged delegates. It’s an uphill fight, I admit it. We need to win 65 percent of those votes but the states coming up our favorable to us.'

As a result of tonight's shortfall, he must add to his balance in upcoming contests, of which there are just 13 after this, including Oregon, where he's expected to trounce Clinton.

'Every victory we earn is extraordinarily important for our political revolution,' Sanders told his backers tonight in a fundraising email. 'Because each win and all the work that goes into that effort sends an unmistakable message to the establishment of this country that we will never stop fighting for the values we share'

His campaign at least avoided egg on its face by exceeding Clinton's vote total in the Hoosier State after it predicted wins in every May contest on a less favorable election night two weeks ago as it attempted to justify his continued participation in Democratic race for the White House.

Sanders and his aides have insisted the progressive senator could overtake Clinton in pledged delegates by dominating the rest of the map.

That strategy just hasn't panned out they way they thought it would, however, and Sanders is now on the verge of being completely boxed out.

Clinton led him by nearly 330 pledged delegates before Indiana's results were finalized.

When pledged delegates are factored in her advantage balloons to more than 800 delegates overall, putting her slightly more than 200 shy of locking in the nomination.

Sanders' stated plan is to pull even with her in pledged delegates and make the case to the party officials and other superdelegates that they should overturn their support for Clinton and vote for him at the July convention instead.

It's an unusual move that has little chance of succeeding.

Clinton has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the Democratic Party as first lady and later a U.S. senator while Sanders remained unaffiliated until the start of this race.

Former president Bill Clinton speaks at a campaign rally held on behalf of his Democrat wife Hillary

Clinton visited the African American Heritage Centre yesterday afternoon to assist his wife's campaign

Clinton poses for a selfie with a fan during his visit to the center

The former president, who was in power for eight years from 1983 to 1992, poses with an elderly woman

Clinton shakes a woman's hand upon his arrival at the centre to support his wife who is vying for the Democratic nomination for the White House

The Vermont lawmaker caucused with Democrats throughout his career but did not become one of them until he decided to seek the party's presidential nomination.

He's deflected criticism from his refusal to build up the Democratic Party by holding fundraisers for down ballot candidates by accusing Clinton's campaign of unethical behavior that trends toward the corrupt.

His campaign has accused Clinton and the Democratic National Committee of operating a joint fundraising committee that promotes itself as a vehicle to lift the entire party up when most of the money flowing into it goes to the Hillary for America bank account.

The race moves on from Indiana to Guam, which has has seven delegates and votes Saturday, West Virginia, on the calendar a week from today, and Kentucky, two weeks ahead.

Sanders spoke to his supporters in Louisville, Kentucky, this evening before polls had fully closed, as has become his way.

He drove the six miles back over the border to New Albany, Indiana, tonight after his win was announced to deliver a statement and take questions from press.

Clinton did not have a primary night event at all, allowing her to duck an in-person statement about her loss in a state that polls and past history suggested could go either way.