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The Democratic Primary: By the Numbers

Clinton and Sanders have battled over millions of votes, hundreds of millions of fundraising dollars, thousands of delegates and one ultimate crown.
Image: A voter arrives to cast their ballot in the Wisconsin presidential primary election at a voting station in Milwaukee
A voter arrives to cast their ballot in the Wisconsin presidential primary election at a voting station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, April 5, 2016.JIM YOUNG / Reuters

More than four months ago, Democrats in Iowa headed to their first-in-the-nation caucuses to choose their nominee to succeed President Barack Obama. Since then, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have battled over millions of votes, hundreds of millions of fundraising dollars, thousands of delegates and one ultimate crown – to be the party’s standard-bearer.

Clinton has accumulated a majority of all Democratic delegates, making her the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, but Sanders remains in the race even after the conclusion of the final primary of the year on June 14 in the District of Columbia.

Here’s how the Democratic nomination race played out, by the numbers:

Days since the Iowa caucuses: 135



Pledged delegates won by Bernie Sanders: 1,825 (45 percent)

Pledged delegates won by Hillary Clinton: 2,217 (55 percent)


Total delegate count (pledged and superdelegates)


Highest NBC News | SurveyMonkey polling average for Sanders vs. Clinton:

43 percent to 49 percent, April 4-10, June 2016.

Highest NBC News |SurveyMonkey polling average for Clinton vs. Sanders:

58 percent to 36 percent, June 6-12, 2016.


Primaries won by Bernie Sanders: 10

Primaries won by Hillary Clinton: 28

Caucuses/conventions won by Bernie Sanders: 12

Caucuses/conventions won by Hillary Clinton: 6



Total spent on TV ads by Hillary Clinton’s campaign: $44.9 million

Total spent on TV ads by Bernie Sanders’ campaign: $58.8 million


Clinton’s lead over Sanders with self-described Democrats, according to exit polls:

64 percent to 35 percent

Sanders’ lead over Clinton with self-described independents, according to exit polls:

64 percent to 34 percent.