Hillary Clinton calls victory: 'The first time in our nation's history a woman will be nominee'

Hillary Clinton has declared victory in her campaign to become the Democrat presidential candidate following a successful showing at the 7 June primaries. At a speech made after winning the New Jersey primary, Clinton said it was an historical moment for the US – the first time a woman had been a major party's nominee for president.

"It may be hard to see tonight, but we are all standing under a glass ceiling right now — but don't worry, we're not smashing this one," she said as she pointed up to the glass roof at a rally in Brooklyn, The Hill reported.

"Thanks to you we've reached a milestone: the first time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nominee."

The former secretary of state will not officially be declared the nominee until after the Democrat convention in July.

Clinton had been widely reported to have received enough delegates to secure the nomination ahead of the primaries, but her rival Bernie Sanders had warned against counting the superdelegates, whose votes could change ahead of the convention.

She also used her speech to take the opportunity to reach out to Sanders and his supporters, stating: "I want to congratulate Senator Sanders for the extraordinary campaign he has run. He has spent his long career in public service fighting for progressive causes and principles and he's excited millions of voters, especially young people.

"Let there be no mistake, Senator Sanders, his campaign and the vigorous debate that we've had about how to raise income, reduce inequality, increase upward mobility, have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America."

It is not yet clear whether Sanders will drop out of the race ahead of the convention, but Clinton had previously stated she would be reaching out to the senator following the 7 June primaries – hoping to encourage him to back her campaign as she did for Barack Obama in 2008.

However, Sanders has suggested he will be staying in the fight until a candidate is officially declared at the convention.