Clinton could lose race for nominee: poll

Hillary Clinton could lose the race for Democratic nominee as the focus shifts to California, where an influx of voter registrations threatens to derail her lead over Bernie Sanders.

Sanders will be looking to the state to boost his campaign with news of a further 1.5 million people registering to vote since January this year.

The latest statistics from the Institute of California will be encouraging to Sanders a big win in the 7 June California primary, where the candidates are currently virtually deadlocked, could hand him hundreds more delegates. Sanders currently has 1,501 pledged delegates to Clinton's 1,769.   

The influx of additional registrants – a 218 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2012 – is likely to include large numbers of young voters and could make this scenario a reality, reports Independent.

Recent open primaries have shown that the Vermont senator tends to underperform in pre-election surveys and over-perform on primary and caucus days, thanks to the participation of new registrants and young voters.

If Sanders were to win in California it would seriously call into question Clinton's candidacy in the general election and could result in a number of superdelegates, including distinguished party leaders and elected officials who are free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination, withdrawing their support.

Meanwhile, Trump stepped up his assault on the US media Tuesday, branding the political press "dishonest," calling one journalist "a sleaze" and promising more such attacks if elected US president, reports AFP.

He laid into the press at Trump Tower in New York for questioning his claim to have raised $6 million for veteran charities on one night in Iowa last January after skipping a Fox News Republican debate.