Bernie Sanders “feeling quite good” after Nevada loss

Hillary Clinton will win Nevada’s Democratic caucuses, NBC News projects, scoring a much-needed boost in the nomination race and depriving rival Bernie Sanders of a victory in a racially diverse state.

Clinton Sunday admitted she must prove her trustworthiness to voters.

As that army of hotel staff divided into the Bernie or Hillary camp, all the organisational work of those campaigns faced a moment of truth. In contrast, Sanders reportedly won white voters by 49-47 percent and Latinos by a reported 53-45 percent.

The Clinton victory in Nevada underscored the challenge for Sanders as the campaign shifts to Southern states, including SC on February 27. Clinton told her supporters in a victory speech. “Not a lot of people know me, they don’t know my experience, my 25 years in Congress, my eight years as Mayor of the City of Burlington”, he said. She can head into next week’s SC primary somewhat blunting Sanders’ momentum. “I think you’re going to see us making progress there as well”, Sanders said.

Clinton and Sanders should have enough money to stay in the race for weeks afterward, but the delegate tally at the end of the month could make the results inevitable.

Yet turnout for Saturday’s first-in-the-west caucus contest was estimated at about 80,000 people, a significant drop from the 120,000 people who came out to caucus in 2008.

Clinton still has strong support among older Hispanic voters-a divide that was highlighted when Sanders supporters reportedly interrupted efforts by civil-rights leader Dolores Huerta, to provide Spanish translation at a rally at Harrahs casino.

Clinton is polling at 46 percent in Oklahoma, while Sanders is polling at 44 percent, with 9 percent still undecided.

After a paper-thin win in Iowa and a crushing defeat to Mr Sanders in New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign had believed minority voters would provide a bulwark of support in the Silver State, where they had laboured to portray Ms Clinton as the candidate more committed to Latino voters’ issues.

“We aren’t a single-issue country”, she said.

And poll after poll had showed that Sanders had a problem persuading Black and Latino voters.

Hillary Clinton has won the Nevada Democratic caucuses, the Associated Press projects.

STEWART: I want to pick up on what you mentioned about him sort of glossing over SC and headed straight toward Super Tuesday with laser focus. Clinton led in all but two states – MA and Sanders’ home state of Vermont.

For now though she is back on track and headed immediately to the Super Tuesday state of Texas.