Clinton Edges Sanders in Nevada

Sanders is trailing Clinton by more than 20 points in the next Democratic primary state, South Carolina, by a wide margin, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Those areas of strength for Sanders point to a problem for Clinton – convincing voters of her empathy and honesty – that has dogged her throughout the race and continues to challenge her, particularly among younger voters.

While Sanders’ youth-oriented campaign won handily with young voters, Hillary Clinton dominated among voters over 65. Sanders slipped into an employee cafeteria to shake hands with workers.

In Nevada, Clinton edged out a slim win over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by 53 percent to 47 percent.

The anti-establishment senator has made it a close race thus far and still has a shot at northern states like MA and his home state of Vermont.

Clinton captured the backing of voters who said electability and experience were important in their vote.

The win gives Clinton some much-needed momentum after a double-digit loss to Sanders in New Hampshire.

Three delegates remain to be allocated, based on votes in the congressional districts. Morgan Freeman and Will Farrell officially joined Team Hillary, joining Kerry Washington, Magic Johnson and Lena Dunham, to name a few who have publicly showed their support for Clinton.

Lack of support from African-American voters will be a concern for Sanders heading into next Saturday’s SC primary where black voters make a up a large percentage of the Democratic electorate.

Caucusing in Nevada began at 11 a.m., but many waited in line for hours to ensure they could have their voices heard.

But some old-line Democratic warhorses that are supporting Clinton are concerned that their candidate is associated with yesterday’s politics, without the cutting edge energy that benefits the Sanders’ campaign.

That analysis assumes proportional turnout by race within any given precinct, and perhaps more importantly, assumes that once caucusgoers arrived, the vote along racial and ethnic lines for those Latinos who voted in heavily Hispanic precincts was about the same as that seen in Hispanics voting in other precinct locations around the state, something that can’t be proven by either entrance polls or this style of precinct-level analysis. Another 45 percent said they trusted Sanders more to pursue policies that raise the incomes of average Americans, with Clinton polling at 38 percent in the same category.

“He now goes into Nevada on Tuesday and is expected to win there easily and should be very successful in the south on Super Tuesday“. She had strong outreach to the state’s Latino and black voters; she had endorsements and support from key figures in the state; and she had her campaign manager, Robby Mook, who cut his teeth organizing the state for the first Clinton campaign in 2008, when she beat Barack Obama there.

“I believe that on Super Tuesday we have got an excellent chance to win many of those states”, Sanders said before leaving the state.

“It’s the first state with diversity”, he said.

Lenski said that entrance and exit polls, especially in states that conduct caucuses instead of primaries, are often disputed by those who don’t like the results. The former secretary of state credited her staff for the five-point Nevada victory, saying their organization paid off.