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Agencies
Los Angeles
Donald Trump on Thursday secured the support of enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, after unbound delegates pledged to back the billionaire, according to the Associated Press count.
The Republican Party will not make the results official until its national convention in July, when delegates actually cast their votes for the nominee.
The party does not provide an official delegate count throughout the primary race, leading several US news organisations to compile their own estimates.
There are slight discrepancies between different counts because in some states delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice, unbound by the primary results.
Trump has now secured the backing of 1,238 delegates, one more than the 1,237 needed, according to the AP, which said the New York real estate tycoon passed the threshold when a small number of unbound Republican delegates, including Oklahoma GOP chairwoman Pam Pollard, said they would support him at the convention.
Trump was already the Republican presumptive nominee, capping a spectacular and unlikely campaign for the White House that has thoroughly upended American politics.
He was assured of reaching the magic number of 1,237 delegates at the latest on June 7, when California and four other states hold Republican primaries. page 11
