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The Magic Number: Trump Now Has Enough Delegates to Clinch the Republican Nomination

The Associated Press called the nomination for Trump after they found a handful of undeclared delegates who said they would vote for him at the Republican National Convention in July.
Imagen por Tannen Maury/EPA.

Donald Trump is nearly ready to drop the "presumptive" from his title of "presumptive Republican nominee" after he officially reached the magic number of delegates needed clinch the party's presidential nomination on Thursday.

The Associated Press called the nomination for Trump after they found a handful of undeclared delegates who said they would vote for him at the Republican National Convention in July. A candidate needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination, and the AP's delegate tracker now puts Trump's total at 1,238.

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The remaining unbound delegates came from North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Nevada, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Hampshire, reported Politico.

Oklahoma Republican chairwoman Pam Pollard was one of the remaining undecided delegates who told the AP that Trump would have her support.

Related: This Is How the Republicans Could Stop Trump With a Third-Party Candidate

"I think he has touched a part of our electorate that doesn't like where our country is," Pollard said. "I have no problem supporting Mr. Trump."

Even though Trump has more than enough delegates who say they are supporting him, the nomination will not be officially handed down until the convention. The majority of delegates are bound to him due to state rules that require delegates to follow the popular vote from the primary. Many of the unbound delegates told the AP they would support him out of respect for their constituents' preference, but were not thrilled about it. "If there's a second ballot I won't vote for Donald Trump," Cameron Linton, a delegate from Pennsylvania, told the AP. "He's ridiculous. There's no other way to say it."

With the magic number of delegates locked down, Trump has completed one of the most unpredictable presidential primary races in recent history. The reality TV star and businessman has defied all of the rules for running a traditional campaign yet he has somehow been able to destroy 16 rival candidates — most of them with more money, experience, and conventional Republican platforms — that started off in the Republican race. His startling rise to becoming the Republican standard-bearer has effectively ripped open the GOP, thrown conventional political wisdom out the window, and made a mockery of any pundit who tried to predict the race this year.

Just over a month ago, before Trump won the New York primary on April 19, he needed two-thirds of the remaining delegates to get to 1,237. Many believed that no candidate would get there in time and the convention would end up being contested. But now, Trump has all but ended the Republican primary race even with six more primary states left to vote, including California and New Jersey, two of the biggest in the race.

Follow Olivia Becker on Twitter: @OliviaLbecker