The Nevada caucuses have closed and the latest step in a tight race for Democratic nomination is near.
Hillary Clinton walked away victorious, with 19 delegates to Bernie Sanders' 15. The numbers put Clinton with 52.7% of the vote, while Sanders had 47.2%. The Associated Press called the race, with Sanders conceding via telephone call and Clinton accepting her victory before a small room of supporters in Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
According to a CNN poll released on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were evenly matched in advance of Saturday’s Democratic caucus. A poll of 282 likely Democratic caucusgoers found that 48% were likely to support Clinton, with 47% likely to back Sanders. The majority of those polled believed that they had “definitely decided,” on their candidate. Only a quarter were still trying to decide.
The even split may prove a change from last week’s New Hampshire primary, where Sanders quickly emerged as a winner. By 5:00 p.m. on the day of that state’s primary, Sanders had been given such a lead by exit polls that statistics site FiveThirtyEight gave him a 99% chance of winning.
The outcome of the race in Nevada could shine light on the future of the race. Nevada is far more diverse than the previous contests, Iowa and New Hampshire, with demographics closer to that of the United States as a whole. According to U.S. Census data, the state comes in at around 76% white, 9% Black or African-American, and 27% Hispanic or Latino (the percentages add up to more than 100% due to accounting for multiracial individuals). In contrast, Iowa is more than 92% white and New Hampshire is an even 94% white. In contrast, the United States as a whole is only 77.4% white.
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