Washington – Bernie Sanders’ broad and overwhelming victory in Nevada was based on strong support from Hispanic voters, the youngest, and significant progress within the African-American community of that state.
“We are bringing people together … If we stay together we will transform this country,” Sanders said in his victory message Saturday night in Nevada, which he offered from San Antonio (Texas), which will be next to California, one of the two main prizes of the super Tuesday primaries on March 3.
Sanders, a social democrat and an independent senator for Vermont, obtained about 46% support in Nevada and signs of forming a Democratic coalition, in a state where he competed against six other presidential candidates.
RELATED
“He is getting support from what is the core of the party,” said the former president of the US Democratic Party. (DNC) and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, in an interview with CNN.
Sanders seemed on track to get almost half of the 36 delegates in dispute in Nevada, after counting almost half of the votes.
Despite being in charge of the Nevada polls 10 days ago, former Vice President Joseph Biden, although clinging to second place, was lagging behind with 19% support, according to preliminary results.
In his message, Sanders integrated his campaign for the Democratic presidential candidacy with a vision towards November. For example, he introduced his wife, Jane, as the next US first lady, and listed much of his public policy agenda.
“Don’t tell anyone, we’re going to win the Democratic primary in Texas … The president (Donald Trump) gets upset easily (neither) they tell him we’re going to beat him in Texas,” said Sanders, who considered his presidential candidacy to be the movement of unity in the Democratic Party and the American electorate.
Sanders secured the support of 51% of Hispanic voters in Nevada, which represent 28% of the population and reached 18% of the electorate in the assemblies or caucuses of that state.
Although former Vice President Biden was the one who had the most support among the African-American Democrats of Nevada, with 39%, Sanders showed progress in that group, obtaining 27% support, according to the surveys made at the entrance of the centers of vote.
He obtained two thirds of support among voters who are between 17 and 29 years old and was the one with the most votes among non-Hispanic whites (29%).
Nevada, a state that Hillary Clinton won by only 2% in 2016 against Donald Trump, will again be one of the pendulous states of the presidential elections in November.
Biden considered that – despite his recent decline – second place in Nevada represents that he returns to the race. Biden fell to fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. “We are alive. We come from behind. We will win (the candidacy). We are going to win in South Carolina, ”he said.
Biden now has, according to experts, the need to win on Saturday in South Carolina, the next event before the super Tuesday of March 3, when about a third of the delegates to the Democratic presidential convention will be decided, with events in 14 states and American Samoa.
Buttigieg, on the other hand, urged Democrats not to rush to think that Sanders is inevitably the Democratic presidential candidate and criticized the “inflexibility” of the senator for Vermont on the issue of health, regarding his proposal for “Medicare for all ”, Which would exclude private medical plans.
Preliminary results gave Buttigieg about 15.4%, which would allow him to obtain delegates. “What we have to be absolutely clear about is that we must defeat Donald Trump,” Buttigieg said, but he doubted that the Democrats will manage to do so with Sanders, the group’s most liberal, as the White House candidate.
Despite being in fourth place, with only 10.3% support, Senator Elizabeth Warren thanked the Democratic voters in Nevada for understanding that they have “kept her in the fight” and said that she wished on Wednesday, when she severely attacked Michael Bloomberg for the complaints that he says he has against him for sexual and labor harassment, has raised $ 9 million through more than 250,000 donations.
Bloomberg will not be on the ballot until the super Tuesday of March 3.
Following preliminary results from Nevada, Bloomberg campaign director Kevin Sheekey said it would be “a fatal mistake” for Democrats to present Sanders as a presidential candidate. “Nevada’s results reinforce the reality that this fragmented field (of candidates) is putting Bernie Sanders on track to accumulate unsurpassed delegated leadership,” said Sheekey.
