The Democratic primary cycle was anything but the coronation it was expected to be for now-presumptive Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, as Sen. Bernie Sanders proved to be a formidable opponent for the unpopular and scandal-tarred Clinton — providing a significant and unexpected challenge.

Early Tuesday night before polls even closed in California, Hillary Clinton won enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee — but Clinton’s finish was remarkably weak. She hobbled to the finish line with barely any wind in her sails to head into the general election.

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Clinton addressed supporters at her headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, where she boasted of the historic nature of her nomination. “For the first time in our history, a woman will be a major party’s nominee for president of the United States,” Clinton said.

By all measures, this should have been a strong moment for Hillary Clinton. Instead, her moment was stolen away by Bernie’s momentum in the final primary states, facing a string of losses to the 74 year-old socialist in West Virginia, Oregon, and Indiana — and only narrowly beating him in Kentucky. But her losing streak changed on Tuesday after winning the primary in New Jersey, which was the second largest prize of the final primary night with 126 pledged delegates up for grabs. Clinton also went on to win in New Mexico and South Dakota.

Sanders was able to squeak out a tiny win in the North Dakota caucuses and Montana primary, but combined the states only had 39 delegates at stake.

But the primary that held the golden ticket was California, which boasted of 475 pledged delegates. Reports showed that California saw record-breaking voter turnout as well as new voter registration leading up to the primary. Sanders poured his heart and soul into the Golden State, hoping it would be enough to take down Clinton, but to no avail. The two went toe-to-toe in California as polls had the rivals within two points of each other. Sanders’ 13-point loss to Clinton in California puts enormous pressure on him to drop out of the race, something Clinton hopes will happen quickly.

But early Wednesday morning, a defiant Sanders gave a feisty speech in which he promised to continue the fight in the last primary that will be held in Washington, D.C., next Tuesday. He went on further, vowing to take his candidacy and progressive platform to the convention. “We will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate we have left,” Sanders said. “We will not allow Donald Trump to become president of the United States, but we understand that our mission is more than just defeating Trump — it is transforming our country.” Sanders also mentioned that he received a call from President Obama and that he will be meeting with him on Thursday.

With a tough loss in California, Sanders can still hope for a seat at the party platform table at the Democratic convention in July, given the amount of delegates and support he has amassed.

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Despite Sanders’ vow to stay in the race, Clinton nipped that idea in the bud, hoping to begin the long and arduous process of trying to unite the Democratic Party. “I want to congratulate Senator Sanders for the extraordinary campaign he has run,” Clinton said. “He has spent his long career in public service fighting for progressive causes and principles and he has excited millions of voters — especially young people.”

Clinton also made sure to address the roadblock preventing her from getting back to the White House in November — Donald Trump. “Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander-in-chief,” Clinton said. “And he’s not just trying to build a wall between America and Mexico, he is trying to wall off Americans from each other. When he says ‘let’s make america again,’ that’s code for taking America backwards.”

Sanders’ hard-fought campaign will have lasting effects on Clinton’s candidacy in the general election as well as the Democratic Party for years to come — particularly if his ideas are incorporated in the party platform. Her vulnerability extends far beyond Sanders, though, as she wades deep in the ongoing investigation in her emails. Donald Trump is already blasting her for it. The beleaguered Democratic front-runner faces significant challenges as she presses full steam ahead toward the general election.