With around 27 percent precincts reporting, multiple publications, news networks, and media outlets have declared Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont the winner of the 2020 Nevada Democratic caucuses, according to Politico . Sanders is in first place with 46.6 percent of the vote. Former Vice President Joe Biden is in a distant second with 22.8 percent.
Sanders delivered his victory speech during a rally in San Antonio, Texas. Per The Hill , the senator previewed what could be part of his general election message against President Donald Trump . Vowing to win in Texas, Sanders said that Americans are “sick and tired of a president who lies all the time, they are sick and tired of a corrupt administration, they are sick and tired of a president who undermines American democracy.”
“Trump and his friends think they are going to win this election by dividing people up. We are going to win because we’re doing the exact opposite.”
The senator also pledged to pass immigration reform and reverse a slew of Trump’s policies. Pointing to the diverse base of voters he has managed to create — which was evident in Nevada, where Latinos carried him to victory — Sanders said that his coalition is “going to sweep this country.”
Taking note of Sanders’ victory, Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale declared that “Big Government Socialism” won in Nevada, adding that Trump will be re-elected in 2020.
As The Hill notes, Democrats have long been working to make inroads with the growing Latino population in the Lone Star State, which they hope to flip and turn blue in 2020. According to the latest polling, Sanders is favored to win the Democratic Party primary in Texas.
According to a University of Texas/ Texas Tribune poll released last week, Sanders has doubled his support since October, jumping from 12 to 24 percent. Biden is in second place, with 22 percent. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is polling at 15 percent. Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in fourth place with 10 percentage points.
According to the same survey, Sanders is better poised than any other Democratic presidential candidate to turn Texas blue in 2020. In a head-to-head matchup, the Vermont senator is losing to Trump by only two percentage points. The commander-in-chief would beat Warren by three and Biden by four points, the poll suggests.
It remains to be seen whether Sanders will manage to amass enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination on the first ballot. In order to do so, he needs to win more than 50 percent of the delegates.
