--- title: Barack Obama Could Endorse Hillary Clinton This Week description: The Democratic candidate that voters in New Jersey and California primaries choose this week could affect when President Obama endorses canonical: https://time.com/4358793/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-06T20:01:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:06.331Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Might Make His Pick for a Successor Soon og:description: It could come soon after the final primaries this week og:url: https://time.com/4358793/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e55045067697e12/698896768e06012f604662ef/hillary-clinton-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Might Make His Pick for a Successor Soon twitter:description: It could come soon after the final primaries this week twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e55045067697e12/698896768e06012f604662ef/hillary-clinton-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Might Make His Pick for a Successor Soon by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 6, 2016 8:01 PM UTC  Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally at Louisville Slugger Field's Hall of Fame Pavilion in Louisville, Ky., on May 10, 2016. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally at Louisville Slugger Field's Hall of Fame Pavilion in Louisville, Ky., on May 10, 2016.Patrick Semansky—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 6, 2016 8:01 PM UTC The Democratic candidate that voters in [New Jersey and California primaries](http://time.com/4358077/why-donald-trumps-attacks-on-the-judge-make-the-gop-nervous/) choose this week could affect when President Obama sticks his big, influential toe into the race. White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Monday did not rule out whether the upcoming contests could bring about a presidential endorsement for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “Once the voters in New Jersey and California have an opportunity to express their preference about who should represent the Democratic Party in the general election, then we may be in a position where we have a much greater sense of what the outcome will be,” Earnest said. The White House, however, is going to wait at least another 48 hours before making any official statements about the race. Voters in New Jersey, California, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico and South Dakota will head to the polls on Tuesday, with Clinton just a couple dozen delegates short of clinching the nomination (if you [count pledged delegates and superdelegates](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/primary-calendar-and-results.html)). A win in any state would push Clinton over the edge, though Senator Bernie Sanders has pledged to stay in the race until the Democratic convention regardless. “It is extremely unlikely that Secretary Clinton will have the requisite number of pledged delegates to claim victory on Tuesday night,” Sanders said in [Los Angeles over the weekend](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/06/us/politics/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-california-primary.html). A Democratic candidate would need 2,383 delegates to win the nomination. Clinton has 1,812 compared with Sanders’ 1,521 as of Monday, though Clinton has the pledged backing of 548 superdelegates. Earnest said Monday the President has been in contact with both campaigns throughout the election season in an effort to remain neutral. The [New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/07/us/politics/obama-is-eager-to-hit-the-stump-for-hillary-clinton-and-shred-donald-trump.html) reported Monday that Obama is eagerly awaiting an opportunity to stump for Clinton on the campaign trail. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4358793/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4358793/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/"},"headline":"President Obama Might Make His Pick for a Successor Soon","datePublished":"2016-06-06T20:01:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:46:06.331Z","description":"It could come soon after the final primaries this week","url":"https://time.com/4358793/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-endorsement/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hillary Clinton","democrats","2016 Election","Barack Obama","White House","Bernie Sanders","Democrats 2016"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e55045067697e12/698896768e06012f604662ef/hillary-clinton-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e55045067697e12/698896768e06012f604662ef/hillary-clinton-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton","caption":"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally at Louisville Slugger Field's Hall of Fame Pavilion in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, May 10, 2016. 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