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Tuesday, 10 May 2016

Sanders aims for West Virginia win

Polls show Mr Sanders (right) leading in West Virginia as Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton set their sights on the general election

The US states of Nebraska and West Virginia hold primary votes on Tuesday, with Bernie Sanders still battling to slow Hillary Clinton's march to the Democratic nomination.

Mr Sanders is expected to perform well in West Virginia, despite Mrs Clinton's huge lead in overall delegates.

"We're going to fight for the last vote," Mr Sanders said on Monday.

Mrs Clinton, and Republican nominee presumptive Donald Trump, are already looking ahead to the general election.

Tuesday's primaries will be the first since Mr Trump's last remaining rivals left the race last week.

Mr Trump is now trying to unite the Republican Party after a contentious primary season.

Many top Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, have declined to support Mr Trump's candidacy, saying the New York businessman does not represent conservative values.

Mr Trump will meet Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Mr Ryan on Thursday in hopes of resolving their differences.

Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter

Mr Trump has been supportive of West Virginia's ailing coal industry

Tuesday's primaries in West Virginia and Nebraska may serve as a useful measure of the bedrock resistance to Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee.

Will voters in these two states head to the polls and, despite the fact that Mr Trump is now the only candidate left standing, vote for a candidate like Ted Cruz, who has dropped out but is still listed on the ballot?

Or will the party faithful who normally turn out for down-ballot races outside the spotlight of a contested presidential primary make peace with the brash New Yorker as their standard-bearer?

Mr Trump himself told attendees at a West Virginia rally last week that they should "stay home" on Tuesday and "save their vote" for the autumn general election campaign. It may be the first time in modern US politics that a candidate has actively tried to discourage supporter turnout. In earlier contests a groundswell of new voters powered Mr Trump to wins across the US. He appears content now to coast the rest of the way to the nomination in July.

Chances are he will do so easily. But Mr Trump could be giving his opponents in the party, of which there are still many, an opportunity to sting him a few times before he officially wraps things up.

Some Republicans are concerned that Mr Trump will negatively affect other races, hurting the party's chances of retaining control of Congress.

Mr Trump is deeply unpopular among key voting blocs including women, Latinos and African Americans.

On the Democratic side, Mrs Clinton is on the defensive in West Virginia because of comments she made during a town hall meeting in March.

Addressing environmental issues, she said she wanted put coal companies out of business.

Battered by dwindling demand and new environmental rules, coal companies are among the top employers in West Virginia.

Mrs Clinton later said she misspoke and that she wanted to bring new industries to the state.

Mr Sanders' message of economic fairness has also resonated in West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the country.

While a win in West Virginia will not derail Mrs Clinton's path to the Democratic nomination, Mr Sanders' continued success will give him leverage to influence the party's platform.

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