2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: It wouldn't take a far fetched conspiracy to link the Clinton camp to the AP call. [View all]Tom Rinaldo
(22,919 posts)1) Donald Trump no longer had any remaining opponents for the Republican nomination - just a nebulous small "Never Trump" cartel. I find that to be a significant distinction
2) The AP did not time their Trump call 12 hours before polls were to open for contested primaries in five states. with all that implies.
3) Trump was awarded the presumptive nominee status based on a very small percentage of his delegate supporters not being bound to him through citizen participation in the election process. Republicans, relative to Democrats, have a mere handful of non pledged delegates in the mix. Trump, unlike Clinton, wasn't relying on them for almost a quarter of his "clinching" delegate total.
4) Trump, unlike Clinton, does not have an active FBI investigation of him yet unresolved. While most feel it will not result in Hillary having to be replaced as our nominee, that threat to her status still remains to be determined for now, and could plausibly give reason for Super Delegates who support Hillary now to change their mind before the convention if the unlikely (but clearly still possible) were to happen.