Hillary Clinton has thanked her supporters for helping her reach a historic moment for women - the Democratic nomination for president.

"Thanks to you, we've reached a milestone," she said to cheering supporters 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".

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

The AP news agency reported on Monday that Clinton had enough delegates to qualify as the Democratic nominee.

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

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

He aims to sway super delegates to support him instead of Clinton at the party's convention in July, but commentators say the Vermont Senator is unlikely to succeed in his bid for the nomination.

(BBC)