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Tom McCarthy (now) and Scott Bixby (earlier)

Split decision: Sanders nabs Oregon as Clinton claims Kentucky – as it happened

Interactive
Track the results as they come in.

Summary

We’re going to wrap up our live coverage of the Kentucky and Oregon primaries. Here’s what happened:

  • Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton won one state each, Oregon for the Vermont senator and Kentucky for the former secretary of state, while Donald Trump won Oregon, the only Republican contest of the night, beating a field of opponents who had long since dropped out.
  • Neither party’s nominating race was technically resolved, with frontrunners Trump and Clinton not yet over their delegate majority thresholds.
  • The Kentucky race was so close that the Associated Press declined to project a winner. The state secretary of state, a Clinton supporter, called Clinton the “unofficial” winner. Clinton declared victory. Sanders was agnostic, declaring: “We’re going to end up with about half the delegates.”
  • Even with his Oregon win, Sanders appeared to have eaten into Clinton’s lead of about 280 pledged delegates minimally. He would need to win 67% of all remaining pledged delegates to score a majority.
  • Sanders said in a victory speech in Carson, California, that “we are in till the last ballot is cast.” Clinton did not make a speech but tweeted victory.
  • Trump appeared to have garnered about two-thirds of the Oregon vote, which was conducted by mail. With 60% of returns in, John Kasich held 17% and Ted Cruz 16%.
  • Trump needs fewer than 100 delegates to get to the magic number of 1,237 but cannot cross the threshold until 7 June. Oregon awarded 28 Republican delegates.
  • Clinton is 94 delegates away from clinching the nomination, counting superdelegates, the party elites who can vote how they want and are mostly backing her, and 618 delegates away not counting them. Kentucky awarded 55 pledged Democratic delegates and Oregon 61.
  • Visit our comprehensive results page here and our state-by-state delegates tracker here.
  • Donald Trump was interviewed by Fox News host and former nemesis Megyn Kelly, who challenged him on having retweeted a follower calling her a bimbo. Watch him excuse himself here:
Megyn Kelly questions Donald Trump for calling her a ‘bimbo’

Updated

Sanders declared Oregon winner

Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic primary in Oregon, the Associated Press projects.

The call came within an hour of polling stations closing.

“We are going to win Washington, we just won Oregon, and we are going to win California,” Sanders says. “I am getting to like the West coast.”

Sanders goes after the Kochs, Adelson and Trump, by name.

The American people are sick and tired of billionaires running our economy and our political life.

Donald Trump has been talking about THE MOVEMENT in all caps lately. He also brags about his margin of victory in a race he was effectively running alone.

Sanders makes the case that he’s the better candidate to take on Trump:

If the Democratic party wants to be certain that Donald Trump is defeated, and that we must do, we together are the campaign to do that.

Our campaign has the energy, and the enthusiasm, and the grassroots capability to make certain that in November, in the general election we have a yuge voter turnout.”

Megyn Kelly questions Donald Trump for calling her a ‘bimbo’ – video

Megyn Kelly questions Donald Trump for calling her a ‘bimbo’

“OK. Excuse me. Heh.”

Sanders quickly jumps out to a solid lead in Oregon. Visit our comprehensive results page here.

Sanders takes Oregon lead.
Sanders takes Oregon lead. Photograph: Guardian

Sanders says he can win a majority of pledged delegates by the convention in July, which would require 67% wins for him from here on out.

“We have the possibility. It will be a steep climb, I recognize that. But we have the possibility of going to Philadelphia with the majority of the pledged delegates.”

Sanders: “I think we’re going to win here in California.”

The crowd likes that, chanting Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

Sanders: 'We are in till the last ballot is cast'

Sanders says “it appears tonight we’re going to end up with about half the delegates in Kentucky.”

He does not concede the state.

He says the event tonight is the “beginning of the final push to win California.”

“We are in till the last ballot is cast,” Sanders says.

Updated

Sanders addresses supporters

Bernie Sanders has taken the stage before thousands of supporters in Carson, California. They are charged up. Lots of exuberant cheering to welcome the candidate to the stage.

He thanks the crowd for coming out. And thanks Danny Glover, the actor, who introduced him.

Trump projected winner in Oregon

The presumptive nominee wins the uncontested primary, the Associated Press projects.

Trump is just under 100 delegates short of the 1,237 he needs to win the nomination outright. Oregon will award a total of 28 Republican delegates.

Democrats

Updated

Ballot collection sites close in Oregon

There’s no immediate call as Oregon polling stations close. Both Republicans and Democrats are mailing in ballots there tonight.

CNN reports based on an anonymous source in the Sanders campaign that Sanders does not intend to request a recount in Kentucky, and that in his imminent speech in Carson, California, Sanders is likely to acknowledge a narrow loss in Kentucky.

He may also be in position to announce a win in Oregon, depending on how long he waits to speak.

Bernie Sanders is expected to speak soon in Carson, California. MSNBC has a live video stream here.

Oregon polling stations to close

Polls in Oregon are scheduled to close in about 15 minutes, at 11pm ET. The state votes by mail – the 11pm ET / 8pm local time cutoff marks the last moment voters can drop their ballots off at collection sites. But with so many votes coming in early by mail, the results in Oregon may come in relatively quickly.

Clinton declares Kentucky victory

The Hillary Clinton campaign takes the Kentucky secretary of state – a Clinton supporter – at her word and declares victory in the Bluegrass state:

The Trump campaign announces it has entered joint fundraising agreements with the Republican national committee, allowing the party to apply money raised by the presidential campaign to down-ballot races.

“The RNC is excited to team up with the Trump campaign to expand the robust ground, data, and digital operation we have in place to elect Republicans up and down the ballot,” said party chairman Reince Priebus in a statement.

Kentucky secretary of state declares Clinton 'unofficial' winner

Allison Lundergan Grimes, secretary of state of Kentucky, has gone on CNN and called Hillary Clinton the “unofficial” winner of the Kentucky race. Grimes is a Clinton supporter and has campaigned with her.

Grimes said that 769 votes are untabulated in the state. And that Clinton has a lead of 1813 votes. Those figures appear to give the win to Clinton, Grimes said, but the results are not yet “official.”

“That is what it looks like right now,” Grimes said on CNN. “Hillary Clinton will be the unofficial nominee on behalf of the Democratic party here in the commonwealth of Kentucky.”

Updated

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic party chairwoman, has further harsh words for Bernie Sanders, after the insurgent candidate accused the party leadership of holding a finger on the scale in Nevada.

Sanders condemned threats of violence from some of his supporters after dozens of Nevada state delegates who backed him were ruled ineligible by the party. He released a statement saying that his campaign had also been a target of violence and detailing what he said were examples of bias against his supporters in the state party leadership.

Ouch.

(The interview did not air live, it was pre-recorded and edited for broadcast.)

What did you make of the Kelly-Trump interview? Was there no potential insight into his possible leadership style, were he to gain possession of the world’s highest seat of power, when he described how he deals with being wounded?

When I’m wounded, I go after people hard, and I try to unwound myself.

Or how about when Kelly asked Trump why he stayed mad at her for months after their debate clash last August, and Trump admitted to emotionally holding grudges?

“I’m a real person,” he said. “I don’t say tonight I’m angry but tomorrow I’m your best friend.”

It would be difficult to draw a sharper contrast with the sitting president – “No Drama Obama,” David Axelrod named him in 2008 – who’s been alternatively criticized and praised for his emotional reserve and seeming detachment at the levers of power.

AP: Kentucky too close to call

The Associated Press has moved a story declaring the race in Kentucky too close to call – even “with almost all the votes counted”:

The race was too close to call a winner in Kentucky. With almost all the votes counted, the margin between the two candidates was less than one-half of 1 percent as Clinton tried to avoid ending the primary season with a string of losses to the Vermont senator. Sanders was favored in Oregon’s primary later Tuesday.

Hillary Clinton is at home tonight in Chappaqua, New York, and she’s not expected to give a speech, NBC reports. Sanders still has a speech scheduled in California.

The Associated Press calls Kentucky too close to call.

Clinton holds late edge in Kentucky

Louisville reports – Clinton takes the lead – and the crowd goes wild:

Louisville lands.
Louisville lands. Photograph: Guardian

Updated

With 93% of the votes counted, Clinton has a chance to win Kentucky tonight but only by a razor thin margin. This represents a dramatic change for the candidate compared to her popularity here eight years ago. In the 2008 Kentucky Democratic primary, Clinton got almost half a million votes - 65.5% of everyone who cast a ballot – while Barack Obama got 29.9%.

The last tranche of the Trump-Kelly interview has aired. It’s a speed round.

Favorite movie? Citizen Kane

Favorite book – other than Art of the Deal? All Quiet on the Western Front

Last book you read? “I read passages, I read areas, chapters, I don’t have the time. When was the last time I watched a baseball game? I’m watching you all the time.”

Exeunt.

Trump tweets from home or wherever that he’s about to “go back on” in an prerecorded interview.

Time to start getting excited about Oregon – with results expected in just over two hours. There’s some suspense in the air, with an utter lack of polling to go on...

Lots of knowledgable twitterati feeling a good night for Clinton in Kentucky:

Reminder:

Donald Trump’s promise to live-tweet his interview with Megyn Kelly amounted to him RT’ing people praising how well he was doing.

Trump: running will be 'total waste' unless I win

At the end of the Trump interview, he said that if he fails to win the presidency, he will consider the experience of running “a total waste of time and money.”

As the Trump interview ends (or merely breaks?), Clinton pulls into the lead in Kentucky with 75.6% reporting, by AP’s count:

Kentucky with 75.6% reporting.
Kentucky with 75.6% reporting. Photograph: Guardian

Anybody have a rebuttal to this?

Updated

Here’s how Trump tweets. He dictates tweets during the day, including saying, “exclamation point.” Then after 6pm he might tweet himself.

Kelly asks him about RT’ing somebody calling her a bimbo.

T: Did I say that?

K: Many times.

T: Ooh, OK. Excuse me. Not that first thing. Over your life you’ve been called a lot worse. [awkward]

K: It’s not about me.

T: It’s a modern day form of fighting back... I’m going to stop it about you right now because I like our relationship now.

Updated

Kelly points out that Trump’s tone has seemed to inspire some followers to violence and asks him whether he will change his tone.

I do take it very seriously and I understand what is going on... 25,000 people that have seats and not one person over an hour will sit down... I do understand the power of the message.

Trump: 'I'm a real person'

Kelly asks Trump why he thought the August debate question was unfair.

“That was the first question I’ve ever been asked,” my first debate, Trump says. He basically says he was flustered.

“And I’m saying to myself, ‘Man what a question. And I’m saying to myself, I’ve got two hours of this?’”

But Kelly pointed out he stayed mad for months. Was that real?

“I’m a real person. I don’t say tonight I’m angry but tomorrow I’m your best friend,” Trump says.

“I had great respect to you to be able to say let’s get together and let’s talk... I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

Trump says he “absolutely” has regrets. He could have used different language, he said. But “if I had not fought back the way I fought back, I don’t think I would have been successful.”

Updated

At the beginning of the interview, Kelly asked Trump whether he regretted retweeting disparaging things about Heidi Cruz’s looks or any of his other tweets. She notes that he himself called the Cruz tweet a mistake.

He said where he gets into trouble is the retweeting – but when it’s just him tweeting it’s OK.

He does not admit regret to any of the comments that have stirred controversy, saying you have to move forward.

Kelly asks Trump whether he learned anything about relationships from his two divorces.

He says he’s a workaholic and realized there was a tradeoff there.

She asks if he’d ever been emotionally wounded.

He said the death of his brother, a terminal alcoholic, “was the hardest thing for me.”

Kelly said he seemed to be trying to wiggle out of the relationships question and asked him if someone had done something to him.

Trump says he would think about it and get back to her. Then he says he’s aggressive when wounded:

When I’m wounded, I go after people hard, and I try to unwound myself.

Whoops? Update: This has been fixed in the AP results (8.25pm ET) and Clinton still holds the lead.

Updated

Megyn Kelly’s interview of Donald Trump is about to air on Fox. Not Fox News. Fox Fox. Tune in if you can / are interested.

An intro reel to the interview includes audio of Trump saying Kelly “had blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her, wherever.”

Bernie Sanders will hold an election-night rally tonight in Carson, California – and the Sanders campaign has just announced he will hold rallies Friday in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Clinton finally wins a Clinton County, after losing various Clinton counties in eight previous tries (CNN pointed it out today):

The Kentucky race is separated by two-tenths of a percentage point with 54.4% reporting, by the AP count. Tight race – check out the results as they come in here.

Kelly-Trump interview to air shortly

Donald Trump’s interview with Fox News host Megyn Kelly was recorded weeks ago and now is about to air. Trump has promised to live tweet it. We’re going to live blog it.

The Trump-Kelly pas de deux did not start nine months ago – Trump was writing Kelly fan letters years earlier.

But here’s the scene from the Fox News debate in August that set off the latest round:

Jim Gray, the mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, has won the Democratic US senate primary and will face off in November against incumbent Republican senator Rand Paul. As expected.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray talks to reporters after voting at the Hampton Court precinct at Harrison Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky, Tuesday.
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray talks to reporters after voting at the Hampton Court precinct at Harrison Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky, Tuesday. Photograph: Charles Bertram/AP

We’re above 20% reporting in Kentucky and Bernie Sanders is out front.

However, close watchers of the incoming results, which so far include a disproportionate share of coal counties and mining country and not as many urban precincts, think the lead could switch hands an odd number of times.

Here’s an animation of the state of play in Kentucky:

Kentucky with 20.2% in.
Kentucky with 20.2% in. Photograph: Guardian

Updated

In Kentucky, 10.4% reporting and it is close:

Kentucky with 10.4% reporting.
Kentucky with 10.4% reporting. Photograph: Guardian

Final Kentucky polls to close

The last polling stations close in Kentucky at 7pm ET. How long until we know what happened? The county-level cognoscenti have been digging through the returns and see potential good signs for both sides:

The delegate races

There are 55 pledged and five unpledged Democratic delegates up for grabs in Kentucky tonight. The pledged delegates will be awarded proportionally. The unpledged delegates aka superdelegates will do what they want, which in the majority of cases this year has meant support party favorite Hillary Clinton.

Oregon will award 61 pledged Democratic delegates proportionally and send 13 additional, unpledged delegates to the national convention.

Here’s where the Democratic delegate race stands:

Democrats

And click here for our comprehensive, state-by-state delegate tracker.

Trump picked up 46 delegates in Kentucky back in March. In Oregon, 28 Republican delegates will be awarded tonight, with 13 awarded to the statewide winner and 15 awarded three at a time to the winner in each of the state’s five congressional districts.

Here’s the state of Trump’s hunt for 1,237:

Republicans

Updated

A plug for a great documentary of a 1973 mine unionization fight in Kentucky:

Updated

Kentucky results begin to come in

No Republican results in the Bluegrass state tonight – Trump won Kentucky back in March.

On the Democratic side, with 0.3% of precincts reporting, it’s – way too early to describe the disposition of the race.

But with 3,378 votes counted, Clinton has opened a 578-vote lead. Can she hold it?

Get the latest results on our page of nifty maps and precinct returns here:

Trump would speak to Kim, renegotiate Paris accord

Donald Trump has said he would speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an attempt to halt the country’s nuclear program.

The strategy – which Trump described in a wide-raging interview with Reuters in which he also said he would try to renegotiate the Paris climate accord and dismantle Dodd-Frank banking regulations – diverges radically with current US policy, which is to isolate Kim and the country.

Trump also said he disapproved of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intervention in eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported.

On Kim, Trump said: “I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him. ... At the same time I would put a lot of pressure on China because economically we have tremendous power over China.”

Trump said he would take aim at the 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation, which erected a firewall between commercial banks and investment banks and required large banks to hold a greater share of cash relative to exposure from speculation and debt.

“I would say it’ll be close to a dismantling of Dodd-Frank. Dodd-Frank is a very negative force, which has developed a very bad name,” Trump said.

Read the full Reuters piece here.

Trump announces 'tremendous' cash flow in new disclosure form

The Donald Trump campaign is touting a personal financial disclosure form the presidential candidate has just filed with the federal election commission (FEC), after Trump’s unwillingness to release his tax returns gave new fuel to questions about the size of his fortune.

“Mr Trump’s net worth has increased since the last statement was filed in July of 2015,” a campaign statement claimed. “As of this date, Mr Trump’s net worth is in excess of $10bn dollars.”

While the form requires candidates to indicate where their income falls in a range, it is a clumsy tool for estimating net worth because the ranges are extremely broad and because some securities transactions, certain real estate and assets, retirement accounts and other pertinent financial information may be left off.

Trump has said he may not release his tax returns.

It shows I’m worth more than $10bn, trust me.
It shows I’m worth more than $10bn, trust me. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

The Trump campaign claims the new form, which is being processed by the FEC and is not yet publicly available, shows income “in excess of $557m”, “tremendous cash flow” and “a revenue increase of approximately $190m dollars”.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of Trump’s finances published at the weekend estimated Trump’s 2016 pretax income to be about $160m. Trump’s last financial disclosure form showed between $78m and $232m in cash, stocks and bonds.

In his statement, Trump boasted about the page count of his form and took a swipe at Bernie Sanders.

“Despite the fact that I am allowed extensions, I have again filed my report, which is 104 pages, on time,” Trump said. “Bernie Sanders has requested, on the other hand, an extension for his small report. This is the difference between a businessman and the all talk, no action politicians that have failed the American people for far too long.”

Updated

Comprehensive results page

Our comprehensive results page for tonight is here – you’ll want to keep it handy for a county-by-county breakdown of precinct results in Kentucky and Oregon as they roll in.

First Kentucky polls to close

Polling stations in Kentucky close at 6pm and 7pm ET, with early results expected just after the first polls close.

Most Oregon ballot collection centers close at 11pm ET, with results expected soon after.

In between, we’ll be watching Donald Trump’s interview with former nemesis Megyn Kelly of Fox News. Trump has promised to live-tweet himself. It looks like they’re getting along better:

Oregon foresees record participation

Leading up to Oregon’s primary, Democrat Bernie Sanders repeatedly urged his supporters to vote and promised to prevail if turnout was high, writes Lauren Dake in Portland for the Guardian:

By 8 p.m. this evening, it will be clear whether Oregonians listened.

The state’s 2.3 million registered voters won’t technically be going to the polls this evening. Oregon was the nation’s first state to adopt a vote-by-mail system. Last-minute voters will be dropping their ballots off at designated sites, with the rest having already licked their stamps and sent in their ballots.

In an another first, Oregon started automatically registering voters when they got their driver’s licenses. The system, which took effect in January, has boosted the number of eligible voters and could help the Sanders camp.

“At the current rate of voting, Oregon would be on track to have more than one million votes cast in a primary election for just the second time in state history,” Oregon secretary of state Jeanne Atkins said in a statement.

The last time one million state residents voted in Oregon during a primary election was 2008.

One of the factors that could fall in Hillary Clinton’s favor, however, is that the state has a closed primary – only registered Democrats may vote in the Democratic primary. Sanders has performed better in states where independent voters were permitted to join the Democratic contest.

Updated

Melania Trump on husband: 'he's not Hitler'

Here’s an excerpt from a new Melania Trump interview in DuJour magazine:

When I mention that the comedian Louis C.K. flat out compared Trump to Hitler, Melania stares blankly back at me.

Do you know who Louis C.K. is, I ask.

“No,” she says, shaking her head. But she continues: “We know the truth. He’s not Hitler. He wants to help America. He wants to unite people. They think he doesn’t but he does. Even with the Muslims, it’s temporary.”

Read the full piece here. Update: Melania Trump also addressed a torrent of anti-Semitic attacks on journalist Julia Ioffe after Ioffe published a profile of Melania Trump some of her fans did not like.

Trump does not disclaim her fans and says Ioffe “provoked” the attacks:

“I don’t control my fans,” Melania says, “but I don’t agree with what they’re doing. I understand what you mean, but there are people out there who maybe went too far. She provoked them.”

Updated

When it rains, it pours: Bernie Sanders has lost the support of a superdelegate from the US Virgin Islands for his “lack of concrete positions,” according to Bloomberg News.

“There are no more windmills to joust against and no more mountains to climb,” said Emmett Hansen II, a native of St. Croix. “It comes down to one thing: what’s best for the Virgin Islands, to be fully incorporated into the United States.”

Bernie Sanders statement on Nevada convention chaos: Blame the party

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has issued a statement regarding the unrest at the Nevada Democratic convention over the weekend, in which his supporters caused property damage and began personally harassing and threatening the state’s party chair over perceived bias against the candidate. In the statement, Sanders refuses to apologize for his supporters’ actions, and claims that the onus is on the Democratic party to fix a divided electorate.

Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Piscataway, New Jersey. Photograph: Mel Evans/AP

“It is imperative that the Democratic leadership, both nationally and in the states, understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics,” Sanders wrote, echoing almost verbatim lines he has used in stump speeches across the country. “The people of this country want a government which represents all of us, not just the 1 percent, super PACs and wealthy campaign contributors.”

“Within the last few days there have been a number of criticisms made against my campaign organization,” Sanders continued. “Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence.’ That is nonsense.”

“Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals,” Sanders said, referencing death threats sent to Roberta Lange, the chair of the Nevada Democratic party. “But, when we speak of violence, I should add here that months ago, during the Nevada campaign, shots were fired into my campaign office in Nevada and an apartment housing my campaign staff was broken into and ransacked.”

“If the Democratic Party is to be successful in November, it is imperative that all state parties treat our campaign supporters with fairness and the respect that they have earned.”

Updated

Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada told reporters today that violent threats and harassment by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders amount to a “test of leadership” for his colleague, saying that the unrest at the Nevada Democratic convention needs to be condemned by the candidate and his campaign.

“I laid out to him what happened in Las Vegas,” Reid said, according to the Washington Post. “I wanted to make sure that he understands, that he heard what went on there - the violence, and all the other bad things that has happened there. He said that he condemns that, and I’m confident he does. I’m confident he will be saying something about it soon. This is a test of leadership as we all know, and I’m hopeful and very confident that Senator Sanders will do the right thing.”

Sanders has yet to comment on the escalation, fueled by dissatisfaction over rules that barred would-be delegates who supported Sanders from joining the convention because they were not registered Democrats.

The Senate has passed legislation this afternoon that would allow family members of people killed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks to sue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in pursuit of damages, a measure that President Barack Obama has vowed to veto as a potential hindrance to American foreign policy priorities.

Secretary of state John Kerry meets with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.
Secretary of state John Kerry meets with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was passed by a unanimous voice vote, according to Reuters, although the House of Representatives has not yet scheduled hearings on the bill. The government of Saudi Arabia has threatened to unload nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars in US securities in retaliation to the legislation if it becomes law.

Introduced by Texas senator John Cornyn, the measure would allow American courts to hear cases involving claims against a foreign state for injuries, death, or damages that occur inside the United States resulting from an act of terrorism. The bill would extend similar powers to US courts regarding American victims of terrorist acts committed abroad.

Cornyn of Texas said that the bill does not specifically target the Saudi government - which has denied any involvement in the attacks - although he did say that a still-classified section of the 9/11 Commission report may implicate members of the royal family.

“We have yet to see the 28 pages that have not been yet released about the 9/11 report, and that may well be instructive,” Cornyn said at the news conference.

Updated

DNC: We are 'deeply concerned' about threats, violence following Nevada convention

The Democratic National Committee has issued a statement expressing deep concern following violent protests and death threats against party officials by supporters of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders at the Nevada Democratic convention this weekend, calling details of a letter sent by the party’s state chair “troubling.”

“We are deeply concerned about the troubling details laid out in the letter from the Nevada Democratic party,” wrote party chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. “We will be reaching out to the leadership of both of our campaigns to ask them to stand with the Democratic party in denouncing and taking steps to prevent the type of behavior on display over the weekend in Las Vegas. Our democracy is undermined any time threats, intimidation, physical violence or damage to property are present. If there are legitimate concerns, they must be addressed in an orderly, civil and peaceful manner.”

Roberta Lange, the party’s chair in Nevada, had reported receiving multiple threats against herself and her family after supporters of Sanders – dissatisfied with the results of the convention where former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who won the state’s popular vote, emerged with more delegates – released her personal phone number.

In the statement, Wasserman-Schultz defended the current rules governing the Democratic party’s delegate selection process, which she wrote “have been in place for decades”.

“There is no excuse for what happened in Nevada, and it is incumbent upon all of us in positions of leadership to speak out,” Wasserman-Schultz concluded.

When asked about the chaos at the convention, where upset supporters damaged property and prompted 911 calls, Sanders declined to comment:

Updated

Good news out of Guam for the presumptive nominee:

As Ben Jacobs notes, Guam was once seen as a potential foothold for now ex-candidate Ted Cruz:

Updated

A security specialist tipped as the potential defence secretary in a Hillary Clinton administration has set out an agenda that confidently asserts American leadership in the world, backed by strong military force.

Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy.
Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy. Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

Michèle Flournoy, cofounder and chief executive of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) thinktank, launched a report on Monday that some in Washington might be tempted to mischievously characterise as an 18-page job application.

Asked if she would be interested in a cabinet position should Clinton win the presidency in November, Flournoy did little to play down the notion, smiling as she said: “I don’t speculate. I am very happy at the CNAS in its 10th anniversary year.”

Flournoy was under secretary of defence for policy from 2009 to 2012, making her one of the highest-ranking women in the history of the Pentagon. She was previously a defence policy adviser to Clinton during the 2008 presidential campaign and is said to remain close to the former secretary of state.

The 55-year-old told the Guardian on Monday: “I don’t want to speak for her, but what I will say is I think the policies she’s already articulated in a series of speeches and in her record as secretary of state suggest that she understands the importance of American leadership in the world, that she is in the bipartisan consensus that has supported a smart approach to US engagement as the best way to protect our interests and also underwrite the global order.

“Personally, when I look at the other candidates who are still standing, I think they are at the margins of that consensus. They may even be outside that consensus. So I think that’s an important topic for Americans to discuss in this election season.”

If we didn’t know any better, we’d say that Donald Trump hadn’t already taped his sitdown interview with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly weeks ago - he’s still holding his breath on how Kelly will treat him tonight:

Former Massachusetts governor William Weld has emerged as a possible vice-presidential pick for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, according to the Daily Caller, citing anonymous sources close to Johnson.

Weld served as a two-term Republican governor of the left-leaning Bay State.

Former presidential candidate Jeb Bush has (belatedly) knocked presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump for his “insensitive” Cinco de Mayo tweet, in which the candidate attempted to bond with latino voters by tweeting a picture of himself eating a taco bowl.

“First, not all Hispanics are Mexican,” Bush told a Dutch newspaper. “Secondly, not all Hispanics eat tacos. Thirdly, showing your sensitivity by eating an American dish is the most insensitive thing you can do. Fourthly, to say this, next to all things he already said, is a further insult. It’s like eating a watermelon and saying, ‘I love African-Americans.’ ”

“This guy,” Bush continued, apparently exasperated. “If we lose in November, we Republicans have ourselves to blame.”

Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, who walked off his combat outpost in Afghanistan and spent five years in captivity, will be court martialed under a new commander-in-chief, according to the Associated Press.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Photograph: Andrew Craft/AP

A military judge decided on Tuesday to delay Bergdahl’s trial from August until February to provide time for resolving disputes over the defense team’s access to classified documents.

Bergdahl, 30, sat attentively in his dress blue formal uniform, his infantry cord looped under the epaulet on his right shoulder, during the brief hearing. The soldier from Hailey, Idaho, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The latter charge is relatively rare and carries the potential sentence of life in prison.

A February start would mean the court martial could make headlines only weeks after the new commander-in-chief is sworn in as president.

Given the shape of the campaign so far, that will probably mean either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be in charge of the military.

The chair of the Nevada Democratic Party has released screenshots of text messages she has received since supporters of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made her private cell phone number public, in hopes of stopping a barrage of insults, threats and harassment that she has called “vile.”

“It’s been threatening messages, threatening my family, threatening my life, threatening my grandchild,” Roberta Lange told the New York Times. The messages are apparently from Sanders supporters angry with rule changes at the party’s state convention, from which rival Hillary Clinton emerged with more delegates after winning the state earlier this year.

Here is a sample of the screenshots (foul language warning):

A text.
A text. Photograph: Roberta Lange
Another text.
Another text. Photograph: Roberta Lange
A third.
A third. Photograph: Roberta Lange

Lange told the Times that she has received more than 1,000 calls since the party’s convention on Saturday, and as many as three text messages per minute.

Paul Ryan: It's good that Republican voters trust Trump over me

House speaker Paul Ryan told reporters this morning that an NBC News poll that shows Republican voters trusting presumptive nominee Donald Trump more than they trust himself is a good sign for the party.

“I hope it’s Donald Trump. He’s getting the nomination,” said Ryan. When asked whether he feels like Trump is the current leader of the party, he seemed hopeful: “Good Lord, I hope it is! Because he person who is getting the nomination is the person to lead our party.”

The NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll in question showed that 58% of Republican voters trust Trump more to lead the Republican party than Ryan, who is the highest-ranking party member in the country. Only 39% felt the same way about Ryan.

Updated

Texas governor Greg Abbott has responded aggressively to President Barack Obama’s declaration this morning that LGBT rights are human rights, tweeting that the White House’s fight against laws sending transgender people to prison for using bathrooms that comport with their stated gender identity is a far cry from, of all things, the space program.

Earlier this morning, the White House released a statement to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in which Obama called advancing LGBT rights as “a cornerstone of American diplomacy,” before saying that more needs to be done, both “at home and abroad.”

“In too many places, LGBT individuals grow up forced to conceal or deny who they truly are for fear of persecution, discrimination, and violence,” Obama wrote. “All nations and all communities can, and must, do better. Fortunately, human rights champions and good citizens around the world continue to strive towards this goal every day by lifting up the simple truth that LGBT rights are human rights.”

Former Pennsylvania governor and secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge has officially joined the #NeverTrump movement, writing in the Harrisburg Patriot-News that “duty and loyalty to our nation must always come first,” ahead of party politics.

“Every four years since my 18th birthday, I have pulled the lever in support of the Republican nominee for President of the United States,” Ridge writes. “That streak will end this November.”

Ridge, a former congressman who served as the inaugural secretary of homeland security after the department’s creation under the administration of George W. Bush, writes that his feelings on presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump are “well documented,” but “suffice to say that I am disappointed that he is our party’s nominee.”

Dismissing what he calls Trump’s “bumper sticker approach” to foreign policy, Ridge declares that Trump’s “bombastic tone reflects the traits of a bully, not an American president and statesman.”

“If he cannot unite Republicans, how can he unite America?” Ridge asks. “I simply cannot endorse him.”

Donald Trump: Ignorance is a virtue.

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager told CNN this morning that the candidate is “helping” former secretary of state Hillary Clinton by remaining in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination even though his mathematical odds of winning the nomination outright is shrinking.

“I would say that we are helping Hillary Clinton, as a matter of fact, assuming that she’s the nominee, and I think that Hillary Clinton is helping Bernie Sanders, assuming that he’s the nominee,” Jeff Weaver told Chris Cuomo on CNN’s New Day.

“As long as there’s a Democratic primary process going on, people are talking about issues that are important not only to Democrats but to Americans as a whole,” Weaver continued.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is lashing out at Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton this morning for “misrepresenting” his past statements about women in a new advertisement.

The advertisement - produced by Priorities USA and not the Clinton campaign itself - features women and men “speaking” dubbed-over lines that Trump has said about women in the past, closing with “and you can tell them to go f[bleeped] themselves!”

It’s that last line that has stuck in Trump’s craw.

Justin Barasky, communications director for Priorities USA, responded thusly:

Attorney: Donald Trump might sue New York Times

A lawyer for the Trump Organization has suggested that the presumptive Republican nominee may sue the New York Times in response to a deeply reported article published this weekend that highlighted the candidate’s troubled personal and professional history with women.

Donald Trump posing with Miss Universe winners during a pageant photo shoot in New York.
Donald Trump posing with Miss Universe winners during a pageant photo shoot in New York. Photograph: Jamie Fine/REUTERS

“I think that is a distinct possibility,” Trump Organization assistant general counsel Jill Martin told CNN. “I haven’t talked to him about it personally, but, you know, when he’s attacked like that and things are said falsely, he definitely fires back.”

The threat came two days after the New York Times published a lengthy investigation into Trump’s alleged mistreatment and objectification of women in his personal life, which included instances of aggressive physical contact, disparaging comments regarding employees’ physical appearance and bragging about his own romantic prowess.

Trump Organization general counsel Michael Cohen told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo tis morning that there’s a “very high bar” for suing news organizations, particularly when the litigant has not yet pointed out any specific inaccuracies or libelous statements in the article in question.

“It’s a very high bar,” Cohen said. “I don’t think that this is going to end up in litigation. The truth is that The New York Times owes both Ms. Brewer and they owe Donald Trump an apology.”

JK Rowling says despite finding Donald Trump “objectionable,” she defends his right to come to the UK and be “offensive and bigoted.”

“His freedom to speak,” says Rowling, “protects my freedom to call him a bigot.” Rowling was speaking at Pen America’s annual literary gala in New York on Monday night.

Marco Rubio has little patience for speculation on his next moves since suspending his campaign for president, but he may have a future as a media critic.

The Florida senator regaled Twitter late last night with a series of tweets blasting a report in the Washington Post that had cited anonymous sources to portray him as torn over where to take his career in the coming months.

The article – which counts Rubio among five people who will never accept the role of vice-president to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump – suggests Rubio is “betwixt and between” on whether to seek re-election to the US Senate, run for governor or enter the private sector.

Rubio, who appears to have regained personal control of his Twitter account since exiting the presidential race in March, took issue with the citing of unnamed people “close to” him, deeming it a “desperate” attempt by reporters to generate content.

“I have only said like 10,000 times I will be a private citizen in January,” Rubio said in a tweet storm that spanned roughly an hour.

The rumble in the jungle

Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s campaign politics live blog.

We were so young then.

All eyes are on New York tonight, where presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s highly anticipated interview with Fox News anchor and frequent foe Megyn Kelly. The interview, billed as Megyn Kelly Presents, is reportedly focused around the theme of “temperament”, according to one of the numerous pressers Kelly has conducted in anticipation of the interview’s airing. The special will air on on the Fox broadcast network – as in, the channel you watch The Simpsons on – at 8pm ET.

In the party where the nomination is not yet set in stone, however, anxious hands are clutching strands of pearls ahead of two primary contests in Kentucky and Oregon tonight. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders is hoping for a twofer tonight, which would put him at 22 victories in this primary cycle – only one less than former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s 23-state victory in the 2008 Democratic primaries.

Polling, while relatively sparse in these states, has shown Clinton leading slightly in both states. Polls in Kentucky close at 6pm ET; Oregon’s polls close at 11pm ET.

On the docket

Sanders will travel to California today to host an election night rally in Carson, California. It’s a typical move for him – to either highlight popular support during primaries victories or to compensate for defeats. Meanwhile, Clinton will not be making any public appearances today, although husband Bill will host three organizing events in Puerto Rico.

Trump, for his part, does not have any public events scheduled for nearly two weeks – and why would he?

Updated

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