Clinton edges out Sanders to win Nevada caucuses

There was little time for celebration for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after she narrowly defeated Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucus Saturday evening.

Despite losing to Clinton, 52 percent to 47 percent, on Saturday, Sanders outpaced Clinton among Latino and young voters in Nevada, something he might be able to replicate in liberal states with similar demographics such as Michigan, Minnesota and Colorado – not to mention MA – all of which vote in the Super Tuesday primaries on March 1.

After winning the county in Nevada that holds more than 70 percent of the state’s population, Hillary Clinton can claim a decisive win in Nevada – if not as decisive as she would have liked.

“Campaigns are and should be about the future, and I believe that the future of the Democratic Party and the United States of America will be best served with the experience and know-how of Hillary Clinton as our 45th president”, Clyburn said at a news conference in SC. One set of entrance and exit poll results conducted by CBS News showed Sanders took 53 percent of Latino votes in the state.

“This is a challenging state to campaign in – much more challenging than Iowa and New Hampshire”, he said.

“I’m really excited about the win in Nevada, for the momentum, the energy, the excitement.” said another supporter.

In Nevada, about 80,000 turned out for the caucuses, compared with almost 118,000 in 2008, state Democratic party officials estimated. And strong support from African-Americans signals strength heading into SC next week and Super Tuesday states just beyond. Fifty-three percent of Sanders supporters attended their first caucus, the polls show. Both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns last week began airing their first television ads. “It’s frontloaded for her, but we have the ability to stay in the long game”.

Neither Clinton nor Sanders’ campaigns immediately responded to requests for comment on the allegations.

“I think that is a question that people are trying to sort through”.

Clinton installed staff on the ground last spring, but Sanders’ message of combating income inequality appeared to resonate in a state where many voters are still struggling to rebound after years of double-digit unemployment. While Sanders and Clinton are tied in elected delegates with 51 each, according to unofficial tallies, it’s estimated Clinton has 449 superdelegate pledges to 19 for Sanders.

But what makes yesterday’s developments so important has less to do with these precise totals and more to do with the impact on the Democratic race overall.

One area where Sanders acknowledged he must do better is in voter turnout. If Clinton solidifies her support among black voters over the next month and wins the Southern contests, she could amass a significant number of delegates in the push toward the 2,383 needed to win the nomination.