Sanders, Trump win West Virginia primaries

US networks on Tuesday evening projected wins for Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican front-runner Donald Trump in West Virginia.

Trump also easily won the primary in Nebraska, bringing his tally to 89 percent of the delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for president.

Though the Democrats did not have a primary in Nebraska on Tuesday, Sanders won the Nebraska Democratic caucus back in March.

Trump, meanwhile, has already moved his campaign into general election mode after his final Republican challengers, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich, dropped out last week. But the presumptive GOP nominee has failed to gain the full support of his own party elite.

In a bid to win them over, the brash billionaire is set to meet with Republican party leaders in the US Congress on Thursday, including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who last week said he was "not yet ready" to endorse Trump.

Clinton well ahead in Democratic race

Despite a string of victories and good momentum, Sanders' chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination look increasingly slim.

Front-runner Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and first lady, has already set her sights on the November general election.

With some 1,700 pledged delegates, Clinton is about 300 ahead of the Vermont senator. When the so-called super delegates are added to the count, Clinton has 2,224 delegates, a short distance to the 2,383 needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

Sanders has vowed to continue his campaign up until the Democratic convention in July.

cw/cmk (AP, AFP, dpa)