Why AP isn’t using ‘presumptive nominee’ to describe leading presidential candidates

By ROBERT YOON
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump are the front-runners for their respective parties’ presidential nominations. But The Associated Press won’t yet call them their parties’ “presumptive nominees.” AP only uses that term once a candidate has won the number of delegates needed to win a majority vote at the national party conventions this summer. That point won’t come until after more states have voted. For both Republicans and Democrats, the earliest it could happen is March.