Greg Toppo

USATODAY

Hillary Clinton soundly defeated Bernie Sanders in Sunday's Democratic presidential primary in Puerto Rico, drawing closer to securing the number of delegates needed to win her party's White House nomination.

In early returns, Clinton led Sanders by a 2-to-1 margin, the Associated Press reported, but Clinton was not expected to win all 60 delegates at stake Sunday, which would have put her over the top in the nomination battle against Sanders, CNN reported. She remains shy of the 2,383 she needs to win the Democratic nomination but is expected to cross that threshold on Tuesday, when voters in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota and Montana vote.

Clinton also notched a victory in Saturday's caucuses in the U.S. Virgin Islands, NBC News reported. She won all seven pledged delegates at stake, the Los Angeles Timesreported.

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Sunday's results were slow to arrive, as officials counted ballots by hand and focused first on releasing results tied to the island's local primary, AP reported.

"I'm for Hillary, girl," said 83-year-old Candida Dones. "I can't wait for a female president. She's one of us. She wears the pants. If we don't look out for our own interests, who will?"

While Puerto Rican residents cannot vote in the general election, the island's politics could reverberate into the fall campaign. Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have left the island to escape a dismal economy, with many resettling in the key electoral battleground of Florida.

Both Sanders and Clinton have pledged to help as the island's government tries to restructure $70 billion worth of public debt the governor has said is unpayable.

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"This is one of the most important political moments for Puerto Rico," said Emanuel Rosado, a 29-year-old Clinton supporter. "I'm taking action as a result of the economic crisis."

Gov. Alejandro Padilla endorsed Clinton on Wednesday, calling her the best candidate to help the government out of the fiscal crisis, NBC reported.

Two weeks before the primary, Sanders criticized a rescue deal negotiated by U.S. House leaders and the Obama administration as having colonial overtones. In a letter to fellow Senate Democrats, Sanders said the House bill to create a federal control board and allow some restructuring of the territory's $70 billion debt would make "a terrible situation even worse."

He later promised to introduce his own legislation to help the island. Campaigning on the island last month, Sanders promised to fight against "vulture funds" on Wall Street that he said would profit from the fiscal crisis.

Clinton has said she has serious concerns about the board's powers, but believes the legislation should move forward, or "too many Puerto Ricans will continue to suffer."

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Nearly 2.9 million people are registered to vote in Puerto Rico. Turnout was expected to be high given that Puerto Ricans also were narrowing down their choice for the next governor, as well as senators, representatives and mayors.

Both Clinton and Sanders spent Sunday in California, the biggest prize among the five states voting on Tuesday.

Sanders has vowed to take his campaign to the convention in Philadelphia, even if he loses upcoming contests. “The Democratic National Convention will be a contested convention,” he told reporters on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Contributing: The Associated Press