Hillary Clinton secured the 2,383 delegates needed to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee this week, making her the first woman in American history to lead the ticket of a major political party and setting up a general-election contest with Republican Donald Trump.

Clinton crossed the threshold through a combination of pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses and commitments from party leaders known as superdelegates. The Associated Press count Monday evening put her at exactly 2,383 after a final round of interviews with previously uncommitted superdelegates. She then won California, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota on Tuesday, giving the claim the force of a decisive final primary night.

A milestone after 24 years on the national stage

At the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Clinton told supporters they had reached a milestone and connected her achievement to generations of women who had fought for political equality. The setting and speech were designed to hold two ideas together: the singular historical importance of the nomination and the campaign’s argument that it represents continuity with a broader American struggle for inclusion.

Clinton’s June 7 victory address praised Senator Bernie Sanders and his supporters for bringing economic inequality and campaign finance to the center of the debate. She urged Democrats to unite, but Sanders did not concede and said he would contest the District of Columbia primary before taking his campaign’s goals to the convention.

The achievement follows Clinton’s failed 2008 campaign, when Barack Obama defeated her in an extended primary and became the first Black president. This time she entered with stronger party support, a commanding lead among Black voters and an extensive national organization. TIME’s account of the milestone observed that its significance risked being obscured by the unusual conflict and controversy surrounding both parties’ campaigns.

The delegate math exposes party tensions

Clinton’s majority includes hundreds of superdelegates who will not cast formal ballots until the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Sanders argued that media organizations should not count those officials before the convention and promised to persuade some to switch. Under party rules, however, they are free to declare preferences, and overwhelming numbers have supported Clinton.

The distinction matters politically even if it does not change the likely result. Sanders won more than 20 contests and mobilized millions of younger and independent voters. His campaign argues that Clinton’s advantage among party insiders demonstrates a system tilted toward established candidates. Clinton counters that she has also won more pledged delegates and millions more popular votes.

The AP’s detailed delegate account said Clinton reached the majority after winning Puerto Rico and receiving a burst of superdelegate commitments. By Tuesday night, victories in the largest remaining contests removed much of the practical force from objections to the earlier call.

A CBS News report on the count described the 2,383 figure as the combination required under Democratic rules, while noting that superdelegates can technically change their votes. The party now faces a less mathematical challenge: incorporating Sanders’s voters and policy demands.

Clinton pivots toward Trump

Clinton used her Brooklyn speech to contrast her campaign with Trump’s. She described the election as a choice between inclusive progress and division, criticizing Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim entry, his attacks on immigrants and his temperament. Trump, who became the presumptive Republican nominee after his remaining rivals withdrew in May, has attacked Clinton over her judgment, email practices and ties to the political establishment.

The contest presents sharply different coalitions. Clinton relies on women, minorities, college-educated voters and the Democratic base. Trump has shown strength among white voters without college degrees and argues that trade, immigration and foreign policy have failed working Americans. Both nominees enter the general election with unusually high unfavorable ratings.

The Guardian’s report from Brooklyn said Clinton praised Sanders before framing Trump’s candidacy as driven by fear. Sanders, speaking later in Santa Monica, insisted the movement he built would continue to the convention.

The nomination changes representation, not the campaign’s burdens

Women gained the constitutional right to vote nationwide with ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, but no woman has previously headed a Democratic or Republican presidential ticket. Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman nominated for vice president by a major party in 1984; Sarah Palin became the second in 2008.

Clinton’s path—first lady, senator from New York, secretary of state and now presumptive nominee—makes the breakthrough inseparable from a long career inside government. Supporters see unmatched experience; critics see establishment power. A Vogue account published as she crossed the threshold traced the delegate total to 1,812 pledged delegates and 571 superdelegates at that moment, underscoring how both voters and party officials produced the majority.

The nomination is not yet formal. Delegates will vote in Philadelphia in July, and Sanders remains in the race. Nor does a landmark candidacy erase the obstacles confronting Clinton: a continuing FBI investigation into her use of a private email server, distrust among some progressives and a volatile opponent who has overturned conventional campaign strategy.

Still, the barrier itself has been crossed. The contemporary assessment of Clinton’s achievement noted that women had long occupied positions of national power without receiving a major party’s presidential nomination. Tuesday night moved that possibility from aspiration to fact.

Unity becomes the immediate test

President Obama congratulated Clinton and thanked Sanders for energizing millions of Americans. He met Sanders at the White House on Thursday, a step toward an endorsement and a managed end to the primary. Senator Elizabeth Warren also endorsed Clinton, adding a prominent progressive voice to the consolidation effort.

Clinton must persuade Sanders supporters that their influence extends beyond symbolic praise. Platform fights over the minimum wage, college costs, health care and Wall Street regulation will offer tests. Sanders must decide whether continuing to challenge the nomination strengthens those goals or delays the party’s response to Trump.

The general election begins with history on one side and disruption on the other. Clinton’s 2,383 delegates make her achievement measurable; the reaction in Brooklyn made it visible. Whether the first woman to lead a major-party ticket becomes the first woman president will depend on a much larger electorate—and on whether Democrats can convert a hard-fought primary into a unified campaign.