Bernie Sanders wins smashing victory in Nevada

No 2020 Democratic rival of Sanders came close in early voting, with former Vice President Joe Biden faring a distant second with just under 19%. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg battled for third place, with billionaire Tom Steyer, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar further back in the single digits.

But it was a closer fight for delegates to the Democratic National Convention, which will be in Milwaukee on July 13-16. With 10% of precincts reporting, Sanders led with 29.3% of delegates. Warren was second at 18.7%. Biden and Buttigieg were tied for third at 17.3% each.

Nevada will send 36 delegates to the summer convention, with a total of 1,991 delegates pledged to a candidate needed to win on the first round of voting.

“In Nevada, we have just put together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition that is not only going to win in New Hampshire, it’s going to sweep this country,” Sanders said at a campaign rally in Texas, which holds its primary on March 3. “Our volunteers are prepared to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors, and no campaign has a grassroots movement like we do.”

Sanders, 78, then took aim at President Trump, who he hopes to face in the fall.

“The American people are sick and tired of a president who lies all the time. They’re sick and tired of a corrupt administration. They’re sick and tired of a president who is undermining American democracy, who thinks he is above the law, and apparently has never read the Constitution.”

The Nevada caucuses carry special weight in the Democratic nominating process, as the state is far more diverse and representative of the American population than the first two voting states, Iowa and New Hampshire. Whites accounted for 66% of caucusgoers in Nevada, per preliminary entrance poll results, compared with about 90% in Iowa and New Hampshire. Hispanics made up 17% of Nevada participants, and black voters made up 10%.

The eight candidates in the race, seeking the right to challenge President Trump, have spent months in Las Vegas and Reno, courting voters and trying to build up their campaign organizations.

Nevada allows early voting in its caucuses, and many voters took advantage. Turnout was relatively light in precincts on Saturday. But overall voting is up significantly from 2016, suggesting a wave of enthusiasm among Democrats eager to beat Trump.

The Nevada caucuses roiled from the lack of a candidate endorsement by the Culinary Workers Union. Nevada is arguably the state where unions have the biggest political clout, and the union’s backing can make or break candidacies. The nonendorsement was seen as a blow to Sanders. Union members argued their recently renegotiated group healthcare plan would be threatened by his push for a “Medicare for all” system, which would effectively eliminate private health insurance.

Nevada also proved to be a turning point in campaign tactics, with candidates going decidedly more negative in their debate last Tuesday than in earlier faceoffs. Six candidates on stage pulled no punches against each other, though Sanders was not their main target. Anger, outrage, and indignation coursed through the two-hour affair — spurred in part by the first debate appearance by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whom rivals accuse of trying to buy the election with his wealth.

Trump on Saturday taunted Democrats over the prospect of Sanders as their nominee.

“Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates. Congratulations Bernie, & don’t let them take it away from you!” Trump tweeted.