Sanders wins Nevada caucuses

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders scored a commanding victory in Nevada’s presidential caucuses on Saturday, cementing his status as the Democrats’ national front-runner but escalating tensions over whether he’s too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump.

As Sanders celebrated, Joe Biden was in second place with votes still being counted. Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren trailed further behind. These were all seeking any possible momentum heading into next-up South Carolina and Super Tuesday on March 3.

Nevada’s caucuses were the first opportunity for White House hopefuls to show appeal to a different group of voters in circumstances far more representative of the united states as a whole than Iowa and New Hampshire. Sanders, a 78-year-old Vermont senator and self-described democratic socialist, won by rallying his fiercely loyal base and experiencing support from Nevada’s large Latino community.

In a show of confidence, Sanders left Nevada for Texas, that provides one of the primary delegate troves in only 10 days on Super Tuesday.