Sanders wins Nevada caucuses to take national Democratic lead
● Win built on victory earlier this month in New Hampshire
Bernie Sanders scored a commanding victory in Nevada’s presidential caucuses, cementing his status as the Democrats’ national frontrunner but escalating tensions over whether he’s too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump.
As Sanders celebrated, Joe Biden was in second place with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren trailing further behind.
All the candidates were seeking momentum heading into Southcarolinaandthensuper Tuesday on 3 March. Nevada’s caucuses were the first chance for the White House hopefuls to demonstrate their appeal to a diverse group of voters, in a state far more representative of the country as a whole than Iowa and New Hampshire.
Sanders, the 78-year-old
Vermont senator and selfdescribed democratic socialist, won by rallying his fiercely loyal base and tapping into support from Nevada’s large Latino community.
In a show of confidence, Sanders left Nevada for Texas, which offers one of the biggest delegate troves in just 10 days on Super Tuesday.
“We are bringing our people together,” he declared. “In Nevada we have just brought together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, it’s going to sweep this country.”
Saturday’s win built on Sanders’ victory earlier this month in the New Hampshire primary. But for all the energy and attention devoted to the first three states, they award only a tiny fraction of the delegates needed to capture the nomination.
After South Carolina, the contest becomes national in scope, putting a premium on candidates who have the resources to compete in states as large as California and Texas.
While Sanders’ victory in
Nevada encouraged his supporters, it deepened concern among establishment Democratic leaders who fear he is too extreme to defeat Trump. Sanders for decades has been calling for transformative policies to address inequities in politics and the economy, none bigger than his signature “Medicare for All” health care plan that would replace the private insurance system with a government-run universal program.
Trump gloated on social media, continuing his weeksdent, long push to sow discord between Sanders and his Democratic rivals.
“Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak,” Trump tweeted. “Congratulations Bernie, & don’t let them take it away from you!”
Buttigieg congratulated Sanders, too, but then launched an aggressive verbal assault on the senator as too divisive.
“Before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders in our one shot to take on this presilet’s take a sober look at what is at stake for our party, for our values and for those with so much to lose,” he said. “Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans.”
For Biden, a second place finish in Nevada could be the lifeline he needed to convince sxeptics he still has a path to the nomination as the primary moves to more diverse states. He took aim at Sanders and billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who wasn’t on the Nevada ballot, but has emerged as a threat to Biden in contests that begin next month.
“I ain’t a socialist. I’m not a plutocrat. I’m a Democrat,” Biden declared.
Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who dominated the political conversation this week after a poor debatestage debut, wasn’t on the ballot. He’s betting everything on a series of delegate-rich states that begin voting next month.
Warren, who desperately needed a spark to revive her stalled bid, thanked Nevada “for keeping me in the fight.”