Sanders wins big in Nevada caucuses
Victory in diverse state cements status as front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
LAS VEGAS — Bernie Sanders scored a resounding victory in Nevada’s presidential caucuses on Saturday, cementing his status as the Democrats’ national front-runner amid escalating tensions over whether he’s too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump.
The 78-year-old Vermont senator successfully rallied his fiercely loyal base and tapped into support from Nevada’s large Latino community as the Democratic contest moved for the first time into a state with a significant minority population.
The win built on Sanders’ victory earlier this month in the New Hampshire primary. He essentially tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses with Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has sought to position himself as an ideological counter to Sanders’ unabashed progressive politics, but was fighting for a distant second place in Nevada.
The victory, while encouraging for Sanders supporters, only deepens concern among establishment-minded Democratic leaders who fear that the selfdescribed democratic socialist 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” plan that would replace the private insurance system with a government-run system.
Despite establishment anxiety, moderates are struggling to unify behind a single candidate, and the vote Saturday was again split between several centrists, including Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Also in the mix: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who desperately needed a spark to revive her stalled bid; billionaire Tom Steyer, who spent more than $12 million on Nevada television; and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who hoped to prove her strong New Hampshire finish was no fluke.
After the chaos of Iowa’s caucuses, there were concerns about Nevada’s similar setup. But no major problems were in sight.
At noon, under sunny skies, dozens of uniformed housekeepers and casino workers cast ballots in the Bellagio, one of seven casino-resorts on the Las Vegas Strip among 200 locations statewide that hosted caucuses.
Nevada was the third contest on an election calendar marked by chaos and uncertainty after the opening votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, overwhelmingly white, rural states.
The first presidential contest in the West tested the candidates’ strength with black and Latino voters for the first time in 2020. Nevada’s population aligns more with the U.S. as a whole, compared with Iowa and New Hampshire: 29% Latino, 10% black and 9% Asian American and Pacific Islander.
In a show of confidence, Sanders left Nevada early to rally supporters in Texas, which offers one of the biggest delegate troves in just 10 days on Super Tuesday. The progressive senator told cheering supporters in El Paso that President Donald Trump is “a pathological liar running a corrupt administration.”
“When we come together, there is nothing we can’t accomplish,” Sanders declared.
The Nevada verdict represents the third in a primary season that will span all 50 states and several U.S. territories, ending only at the party’s national convention in July. But with two more rounds of voting over the next 10 days — including Super Tuesday’s massive delegate haul — the party may identify a consensus candidate long before the convention.
Sanders and his allies were increasingly confident about his strength in the race. In Nevada, he has strong support from Latinos and rank-and-file union workers who have warmed to his calls to transform the nation’s economy and political system to help the working class.
There was skepticism about Buttigieg’s ability to win over a more diverse set of voters after strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. Biden, who struggled in those early states, had looked to Nevada’s voters of color to prove he still has a viable path to the nomination.
Warren and Klobuchar were fighting for momentum, hoping to benefit from a sudden surge of outside money from newly created super PACs.
Klobuchar, campaigning in her home state of Minnesota on Saturday night, claimed Nevada success no matter what. “As usual I think we have exceeded expectations.”
New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg, coming off a poor debate-stage debut, wasn’t on the ballot. He’s betting everything on a series of delegate-rich states that begin voting next month.
In a sign of how crucial the next states are, the Democrats’ 2020 nomination fight had shifted beyond Nevada even before the final results were known.
Only Biden, Buttigieg and Steyer were still in the state when news of Sanders’ victory was announced.
Sanders and Klobuchar spent the night in Super Tuesday states. Warren, who began Saturday in Las Vegas, was to finish the day in Washington state, which hosts its election March 10.