Hillary Clinton Clinches the Nomination. Will Bernie Sanders Fight On?

What does California mean to Clinton?

Mrs. Clinton is favored to win the primary in New Jersey and has a narrower lead over Mr. Sanders in California polls. She is poised to secure her party’s nomination regardless of what happens in each state, but sweeping both would lend her candidacy an especially formidable air at the start of the campaign against Mr. Trump.

Capturing California, one of the most racially diverse states, would hand Mrs. Clinton a useful symbolic victory as she prepares to compete with a Republican whose support has come overwhelmingly from whites.

Can Trump recover his footing?

Republican concern about Mr. Trump is approaching a high: His last remaining primary challengers dropped out of the race more than a month ago, but the real estate developer has done little in that time to gird himself for a contest with Mrs. Clinton.

Over the last week, Mr. Trump has inflicted more damage to his candidacy than Senator Ted Cruz or Gov. John R. Kasich ever did. He has struggled to answer newly detailed and troubling allegations that his defunct educational company, Trump University, committed fraud, and he has repeatedly criticized a federal judge who is hearing a class-action lawsuit against him, accusing the judge, who is of Mexican descent, of having a conflict of interest.

It will take a firm performance by Mr. Trump on the podium in Westchester County on Tuesday night to reassure Republicans that he is up to the job of fighting Mrs. Clinton. Another undisciplined and combative outing could raise the party’s anxiety to the level of panic.

© Damon Winter/The New York Times Donald J. Trump speaking to a crowd last week in Redding, Calif.

How quickly does Obama weigh in?

President Obama has appeared eager, even impatient, to take part in the campaign, and he has already gone after Mr. Trump repeatedly. But Mr. Obama has been somewhat constrained so far by the Democratic primaries. While he has been critical of Republicans, he has not yet made a full-throated case for Mrs. Clinton as a better alternative.

The White House has indicated that may change this week, once Mrs. Clinton has the Democratic nomination in hand. A presidential endorsement would be seen by many Democrats as a signal to Mr. Sanders that it’s time for him to leave the race. And Mr. Obama, who has long been adept at belittling Mr. Trump, could be an effective advocate for Mrs. Clinton as she seeks to energize the Democratic coalition and set the terms of debate against an unpredictable opponent.

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