Hillary Clinton has thanked her supporters for helping her reach a historic moment for women – the Democratic nomination for president, reports the BBC.

“Thanks to you, we’ve reached a milestone,” she told cheering crowds 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 Mrs Clinton won the Democratic primary in New Jersey, cementing her hold on her party’s nomination.

She went on to win South Dakota and New Mexico, while her rival Bernie Sanders found victory in the North Dakota caucuses.

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

Mr Sanders is hoping for a win in that state, where polls show the race is close.

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

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