Wide support for Sanders in Nevada
BROAD-based support across age, racial and ideological groups propelled Bernie Sanders to a dominant victory in Nevada’s Democratic caucuses, tightening his grip on the front runner spot in the race to find a challenger to President Donald Trump.
Joe Biden, a former vice-president, appeared headed to a badly needed second-place finish in Nevada after poor showings earlier this month in the first two nominating contests in the Democratic presidential race ahead of the November 3 election.
Sanders’s triumph on Saturday in the first racially diverse state in the campaign suggested he was reaching a broader coalition of Democratic voters with his unapologetic message of social and economic justice, including his signature pledge to provide universal healthcare for all Americans.
For Biden and other moderates who argue Sanders is too liberal to beat Trump and who have been trying to blunt his momentum, however, the Nevada results made the job much harder. “We have put together a multi-generational, multiracial coalition that is going to not only win in Nevada, it’s going to sweep the country,” Sanders, a US senator from Vermont and self-described democratic socialist, told cheering supporters in San Antonio, Texas. He turned his attention to Trump. “We are going to win across the country because the American people are sick and tired of a president who lies all of the time.”
Trump said Nevada was a “great win” for Sanders, adding that he did not care who his opponent would be.
By yesterday morning, with 50% of the precincts reporting, Sanders had 47% of the county convention delegates in Nevada. Biden was a distant second to Sanders with 19%, but ahead of former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, in third place with 15%.
The entrance poll showed Sanders led in Nevada across all age groups except for those older than 65. Around 54% of Latino voters said they backed him, while 24% of college-educated white women and 34% of those who have a union member in their families supported him. He also won with college graduates, and was the top pick of voters who consider themselves independents. He also was favoured over Biden among voters whose top priority is defeating Trump in the November election.