Clinton wins, heads to Texas as Sanders feels the burn in Nevada

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 on Saturday 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.

More than 1,400 delegates are 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 could also drive superdelegates to her candidacy. She now holds a sizable lead among those elected leaders and party officials.

Fresh from her victory, which was hardly certain after Sanders gained a lot of ground in recent weeks, Clinton headed for the biggest upcoming primary prize: Texas, where early voting is underway for the March 1 primary.

Her destination was Texas Southern University in Houston, where she urged minority voters to vote during the early voting period that ends Friday.

“I am on my way to Texas. … The fight goes on!” Clinton exclaimed in her Las Vegas victory speech.

Despite Clinton’s celebration, Sanders told his supporters after his Nevada loss: “The wind is at our backs. We have the momentum.”

Sanders conceded defeat in brief remarks to supporters in Henderson, Nev., where he reminded them that their fight is bigger than any one primary or caucus. “We have a corrupt campaign finance system that is undermining American democracy and must be changed,” he said.

Looking ahead to the March 1 Super Tuesday contests, Sanders was booed when he warned that Clinton supporters would spend heavily to ensure his defeat.

“We are going to be taking on a very powerful and well-funded super PAC – a super PAC that receives significant amounts of money from Wall Street and wealthy special interests,” he said.

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.

Marvin Teske, a 53-year-old security guard at a Reno casino, said he worried that Sanders would have trouble beating the Republican nominee in the fall. The Vermont senator largely appeals to white liberals, a relatively narrow swath of the Democratic Party.

“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. “I’ve always liked Hillary.”

The campaign in Nevada essentially amounted to a personality contest and a question of who Democrats believed would do a better job implementing similar goals.

Both candidates, for instance, vowed to make immigration reform a priority as president and support a pathway to citizenship for millions of people who came to the country illegally but have been law-abiding residents since.

Each decried the Wall Street machinations that helped lead to the Great Recession — a downturn that hit Nevada far harder than most states — and promised to crack down on its excesses.

They called for increasing the minimum wage and making college more accessible, though Sanders went further in both instances, calling for a bigger boost than Clinton and proposing free tuition for all.

Clinton’s victory in Nevada underscored the challenge for Sanders as the campaign shifts to South Carolina on Feb. 27 and then the Super Tuesday states. Polling shows minority voters, a crucial bloc of the Democratic electorate, heavily favoring Clinton.

Delegate chase

After three contests, Clinton has a narrow win in Iowa, the loss in New Hampshire and now momentum from Nevada that should attract the support of many of the Democratic superdelegates. She has won over a number of the 714 superdelegates as both candidates push toward the 2,383 to win the party nod.

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.

In 2008, the last time there was a competitive Democratic race, the result in Nevada was a split decision. Clinton won the popular vote but lost the delegate count to Barack Obama.

Staff writer John Gravois contributed to this report, which includes material from the Los Angeles Times.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Clinton wins, heads to Texas as Sanders feels the burn in Nevada."