After three contests, Clinton has a narrow win in Iowa, a double-digit loss in New Hampshire and now momentum from Nevada that should attract the support of numerous Democratic superdelegates.
Advertisement
Hillary Clinton edged out Bernie Sanders on Saturday in Nevada’s caucuses, capitalizing on a more diverse Democratic electorate to propel her to a crucial win in her presidential bid.
At time of writing, with 85 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton led Sanders by about five percentage points, 52.5 percent to 47.4 percent.
Sanders, who called to congratulate Clinton, said he was proud of his campaign, which turned a 25-point polling deficit into a close election. “The truth is we aren’t a single-issue country”.
Clinton seemed to know low-wage casino workers were likely to vote in her favor. And, yes, her numbers among Latino voters in the state will furrow some brows at the Clinton headquarters in the next few days.
Clinton trounced Sanders among blacks, with 76 percent support compared to 23 percent for Sanders.
Meanwhile on the Republican side, Friday is the last day of campaigning before the polls open in SC.
Clinton continued to attract voters age 45 and up, drawing the support of this group by a two-to-one margin over Sanders. She left her position in 2013 with a 69 percent approval rating, according to a Wall Street Journal poll. However, 42 percent of nonwhites in Nevada ended up voting for Sanders.
But exit polls suggest that Latino voters may now be feeling the Bern, with 53 percent reportedly percent backing Sanders in the Nevada selection.
Clinton Sunday rolled out a new ad narrated by actor Morgan Freeman where he says Clinton “always stood with us”. Going by early returns, Nevada will be the third state where Democrats have underperformed relative to 2008.
In the view of several political analysts, victory in Nevada and proven popularity with minority voters increases the likelihood of her winning the SC primary (Feb 27) and many Super Tuesday contests on March 1. “But my hope is that our Democratic presidential candidates coming in here and really saying that North Carolina is important to them is hopefully going to get our folks out”.
Advertisement
Sanders downplayed Clinton’s weekend victory in Nevada, pointing out that the win only resulted in her picking up four additional delegates, out of the 2,383 needed to win the nomination. Clinton also polled well on issues like immigration, race relations and women’s issues: 61 percent said they trusted Clinton more to handle women’s issues, 39 percent said they trusted her most on immigration and 44 percent said they thought she was best equipped to improve race relations.
