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Hillary Clinton herself said at a campaign rally in California that she wanted to let voters have their say on Tuesday but the AP now says it will be calling Clinton the "presumptive nominee" until the convention in July. | Getty Why the AP called it for Clinton

The Associated Press called the Democratic nomination for Hillary Clinton on Monday evening, catching many by surprise as six states, including California and New Jersey, don't vote until Tuesday.

Clinton became the nominee "with a decisive weekend victory in Puerto Rico and a burst of last-minute support from superdelegates," the AP wrote in its story. "Clinton has 1,812 pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses. She also has the support of 571 superdelegates, according to an Associated Press count. The AP surveyed all 714 superdelegates repeatedly in the past seven months, and only 95 remain publicly uncommitted."

The combined total put Clinton just at the 2,383-delegate threshold needed to secure a majority. NBC and ABC soon followed with similar calls of their own.

AP spokesman Paul Colford said the news agency had been in the process of contacting superdelegates throughout the day and evaluating the results from the weekend's primaries.

And though Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign dismissed the news on Monday evening — and Hillary Clinton herself said at a campaign rally in California that she wanted to let voters have their say on Tuesday — the AP now says it will be calling Clinton the "presumptive nominee" until the convention in July.

"It takes 2,383 delegates to win the nomination of the Democratic Party, and our count finds that Hillary Clinton has reached that number. Most are pledged delegates won in a primary or caucus. Some are superdelegates, who have unequivocally told AP they will vote for her next month at the party’s convention," AP's U.S. political editor David Scott said in a statement. "Clinton is now the 'presumptive nominee,' because according to our count, she now has enough delegates backing her candidacy to win the nomination."

AP will only call Clinton "the nominee" once delegates formally casts their votes at the convention, Scott said.

