Hillary Clinton calls nomination a 'milestone for women'

Clinton took the states of New Mexico and New Jersey before declaring victory over her party rival Bernie Sanders.

Earlier Clinton won the Democratic primary in New Jersey, cementing her hold on her party's nomination.

"Tonight's victory belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed to make this moment possible," Clinton said.

Hillary Clinton thanked her supporters for helping her reach a historic moment for American women.

"Thanks to you, we've reached a milestone," she told cheering crowds at a rally in New York.

She hailed "the first time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nominee".

Six states have been voting in primaries on Tuesday but the race in California will count the most.

Sanders is hoping for a win in that state, where polls show the race is close.

As the votes were counted, he told supporters he would remain in the race and contest the remaining primaries, despite acknowledging it was a "very, very steep fight".

According to the BBC, Sanders aims to sway super delegates to support him instead of Clinton at the party's convention in July.

However, commentators say Sanders is unlikely to succeed in his bid for the nomination.

On Monday, the AP news agency reported that Clinton already had enough delegates to qualify as the Democratic nominee.