LAS VEGAS — Hillary Clinton passed a crucial test Saturday, besting surging rival Bernie Sanders in Nevada and proving she still has juice with Democratic voters.
Clinton won in the Nevada caucuses, and the victory provided a huge boost to President Obama’s former secretary of state in her close-quarters battle with the Vermont senator for the Democratic presidential nomination. Especially following Clinton’s blowout loss to Sanders in New Hampshire, a win here, where minority voters are influential, could portend well for her as the Democratic contest moves to more ethnically diverse states.
“I am so thrilled and so grateful to all of my supporters out there,” Clinton told a cheering ballroom at Caesar’s Palace hotel and casino, with her husband, former President Bill Clinton looking on. “Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other.”
With 81 percent of precincts reporting Saturday afternoon, Clinton led Sanders 52 percent to 48 percent. The race was called soon after the caucuses closed and was never really in doubt for Clinton despite some public opinion polls that suggested Sanders might pull off the upset here.
Clinton’s Nevada win carries a special significance following her 22-point loss to Sanders during the New Hampshire primary and her extremely narrow win during the Iowa caucus. Clinton supporter Anne Olah, 48, who caucused for Clinton, is a long-time fan of the former First Lady and New York senator. But Olah also backed Clinton because she values electability.
“Equal pay, and I like how she takes care of children, it’s always been a thing with her. And I’ve been a Clinton fan since ’92,” Olah, a floral designer at the Bellagio, said. “I really do like Bernie in some ways, and in some ways, I’m like, there’s no way he’s going to be able to be elected, because as soon as he gets the nomination, they’re going flash out pictures of him visiting Moscow and things like that and it’s going to be detrimental to the campaign.”
Clinton continues to be dogged by an ongoing scandal and federal investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while at the State Department. Most Democrats say the issue is nothing more than a dirty Republican politics, but in Nevada exit polling, Sanders won voters who valued a candidate who is “honest and trustworthy.” Sanders also did well with Hispanics, a crucial Democratic voting bloc, but Clinton scored well with African Americans.
Nevada is the fourth state to vote on the GOP side, and Republicans here will hold their caucuses on Tuesday; the party was voting Saturday in South Carolina. But in the Democratic presidential race, the first nominating state out west has leapfrogged South Carolina on the schedule, a result of the priority Democrats put on wooing Hispanics and union members, which comprise a significant portion of their base.
Clark County, which includes the city of Las Vegas, the state’s population center and home to most voters. But to win caucuses here, Democrats also have to concentrate on Washoe County, which includes Reno and other Northern Nevada communities. The dozen or so rural counties aren’t heavily populated and lean Republican, but there are votes to mine there that could prove significant to cobbling together victory in the Democratic caucuses.
More than 31,000 Democrats had pre-registered to vote in the caucuses, which began Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. turnout topped out at about 80,000.
To everyone who turned out in every corner of Nevada with determination and heart: This is your win. Thank you. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 20, 2016
“Nevada is a critical test because it’s the first state with real diverse population,” Democratic strategist Ed Espinoza said.
