80
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visits with Harrah’s Las Vegas employees on the day of the Nevada Democratic caucus.
LAS VEGAS » Hillary Clinton seized the momentum in the fierce fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, turning back a challenge from Bernie Sanders in Nevada’s caucuses today and pushing toward even friendlier primaries in the South.
“The future that we want is within our grasp,” the former secretary of state, first lady and senator told cheering supporters after her Nevada win.
The numbers back her up in her second bid for the presidency. If Clinton solidifies her support among black voters over the next month and wins the Southern contests, she could amass a significant number of delegates in the push toward the 2,383 needed to win the nomination.
There are more than 1,400 delegates at stake in states such as South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana, and depending on the outcome and proportional allocation of delegates, Clinton could build a comfortable lead.
Wins also could drive superdelegates to her candidacy. She currently holds a sizable lead among those elected leaders and party officials.
Still, Sanders told his supporters after his Nevada loss: “The wind is at our backs. We have the momentum.”
After a devastating, double-digit loss to Sanders in New Hampshire, Clinton prevailed in Nevada with the backing of women, union workers, minorities, moderates and voters who are certain she will have a better shot at winning in November, according to entrance polls.
A large majority of blacks supported Clinton, an outcome that bodes well for Clinton in South Carolina on Feb. 27.
Alma Lopez, 45, was among a group of housekeepers from the Bellagio waiting to enter a caucus site at the nearby Caesars Palace hotel. Lopez and her co-workers broke into chants of “Hillary!” as they waited.
“She understands what it means to be a woman, a mother, a human being,” Lopez said.
The 57,000-member Culinary Workers Union didn’t endorse in the election, but it circulated literature ensuring its members knew where and when to caucus and had staff ensure they were able to get to their sites Saturday.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called casino bosses to ensure that workers would get paid time off to caucus. He also reached out to the union to try to encourage the group to push their members to caucus, even without a formal endorsement, according to aides.
The state party’s initial estimates were that 80,000 Democrats caucused Saturday, about 10,000 more than most expected but still well below the nearly 120,000 who showed up in 2008.
Clinton’s win in Nevada means she will pick up most of the state’s delegates. With 35 at stake, Clinton will gain at least 18. Sanders will pick up at least 14.
Three delegates remain to be allocated, based on votes in the congressional districts.
Entrance polls of Nevada voters found that a third said the economy was their major concern, while a quarter cited income inequality — the centerpiece of Sanders’ campaign.
Whites were split between the two candidates. Sanders did well with self-identified independents and two-thirds of those participating in a caucus for the first time.
The polling survey was conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research.
___
Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report from Las Vegas.
To everyone who turned out in every corner of Nevada with determination and heart: This is your win. Thank you. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 20, 2016
Vote your conscience, not letting poll results sway you. Polls are notoriously wrong. I and many, many more definite voters wouldn’t answer polls particularly since you don’t know who the pollsters are hired by. The only exceptions are (1) if they clearly tell you who they are working for, or (2) are push polls which reveal the people wanting the poll because they are trying to lead you down some path. NOT INTERESTED.
Have some fun and speculate with us. If this and if that…
But the polls show DNC fear Rubio will beat Hillary in the General election.
The missing story is republicans signing up to vote in the democrat caucus and the democrats threatening to have them arrested . . . And you thought Hawaii was weird!
You are not entirely correct.The Secretary of State who is a republican,is warning republicans that they could be arrested if they do so.
Kerry is a Republican?
Kerry is doing worse than Hillary as Secretary of State.
No,but the SOS of Nevada is.
Huh?? Per CNN.com it’s 52% to 48% with 66% of the results in.
indict her already…geez
For what? If GW and his gang of crooks were never indicted, why should Hillary be indicted?
They have no idea, and obviously don’t understand the case law on the statutes they cite from Fox News. It’s pathetic for adults to be so ignorant of the law.
“You can’t have 1,300 highly sensitive emails that contain highly sensitive material that’s taken all, or in part from classified documents, and have it be an accident,” he said. “There’s no question, she knew she had a responsibility and she circumvented it. And she circumvented it a second time when she knowingly let highly-classified material get onto emails in an unclassified format.”
by the way, I’m not a republican.
den: You apparently don’t know anything about the case law for what you think is intent. Enjoy your ignorance.
klastri: why must you insult people that you don’t agree with. that’s a bad
habit, it’s so sad.
den: I’m sorry that the truth insults you. Facts are stubborn.
like I said, that’s a bad habit klastri. LOL!
Why do you find it necessary to insult everyone? Are you that unhappy and miserable.You can enlighten people without being rude.
aomohoa: Sorry if you missed this earlier. When you see my name on a post, don’t read it. I’m not really interested in your critique of my writing style.
klastri, it seems that you upset alot of people on these comment boards.
do yourself a favor and don’t go away mad, just go away.
den: You need to believe something … I could not care less about what you think.
Hillary’s emails weren’t labeled as “classified” until after the investigation began. Bush, Cheyney were caught deleting over 20 MILLION emails, yet not even the tiniest of stinks was raised. Sad, bullying Republicans, they are so desperate to find something relevant to blame on Democrats, yet they have bigger problems of their own they try to push under the rug.
klastri: I see you check into this comment board pretty much around the clock. Maybe you’ll take the time to answer this question: Do you think Hillary Clinton did a good, fair, or poor job as secretary of state?
klastri: if you don’t care about what I think why did you
comment on my post? LOL!
She was sweating bullets for awhile.
“As far as being too far left, I agree with a lot of the stuff he has to say. But the problem I have is that all the stuff he is promising is never going to happen,” Teske said. – True assessment, just about all of what Bernie promises will never pass congress. A Sanders term would be more gridlocked than Obama’s has been. Neither party seems to understand that compromise is the only solution to governing effectively. A far left or far right president only divides country.
Pantsuit One is more likely to take up residence in the Big House than the White House.
Only if she is joined by such republican heroes a G W Bush, Cheney, Christie. lol
“Pantsuit One”? Nothing you write after that matters. Ignorance and sexism is what it is.
megalomaniac hiliar’s obsession to be the first female felon elected president is moving the younger voters to sanders.
hiliar’s political career is eerily paralleling nixon’s political end, right down to the “i am not a crook” stance on the fbi email investigations.
hiliar even has her own circle of co-conspirators working as advisors that need to decide whether to turn state’s evidence or risk imprisonment themselves.
democrat voters validate gruber’s party rallying cry with every vote to continue the culture of corruption in the current white house administration.
If it isn’t flipping coins, it’s pulling cards.
Hillary should go to jail, ..but Obama admin will never prosecute.. She has too much dirt on them.
Republicans pardon all crimes. After they pardon the other Republicans, they might listen to Hillary’s case.
I get the feeling that America had equal numbers of boomers and Millenialls that will vote . Just that the Nevada has many boomers that are retired in Vegas. Boomers for Hillary and Bernie for the Millenialls.