Donald Trump, billionaire and former reality TV star, has officially secured the Republican nomination for President, according to AP, which says it has counted the delegates.
A campaign that was treated as something of a joke by party leadership almost a year ago has succeeded in securing the 1,237 delegates needed, in part by dominating the presidential news cycle.
That could take some of the made-for-TV drama out of the Republican convention in Cleveland next month.
But one thing it did do is prompt a fund-raising drive by the Democratic National Committee, which announced the formation of the Stop Trump Fund and solicited donations not only for defeating Trump but regaining legislative control by linking those Republican legislators with their new standard-bearer.
"Every dollar you can give will also help us take on the entire Party of Trump at every level of office," said the DNC.
