A resilient Bernie Sanders sought to upset Hillary Clinton's commanding lead as the western states of Alaska, Hawaii and Washington held caucuses on Saturday in the Democratic presidential nominating contest.
The biggest prize is Washington state, where 101 delegates are up for grabs. Hawaii has 25 delegates at stake while Alaska has 16.
Large crowds were reported at many caucus sites in Washington, and election officials in some areas said they had run out of registration forms.
Turnout was also high in Alaska with US television networks showing several hundred people waiting in line to vote at one location.
Shortly after the vote closed in Washington in early afternoon, CNN projections based on 10 percent of precincts reporting showed Sanders leading with 72.2 percent against 27.3 percent for Clinton.
Sanders also appeared to hold a commanding lead over Clinton as Alaska results began trickling in.
The vote in Hawaii was taking place later in the afternoon.
"We want our parents to retire in dignity... and I honestly think that Sanders can lead us in that direction," one young voter said in Seattle, Washington as the caucus got underway.
A win for the Vermont senator in the trio of western caucuses would bring a much-needed boost to his campaign as he seeks to dent Clinton's lead in the race to their party's nomination.
- 'Political revolution' -
The former secretary of state has already amassed 1,711 delegates, including super-delegates who are unelected by voters, compared to 952 for Sanders, according to a CNN count.
To win the Democratic nomination, 2,383 delegates are needed.
Sanders, 74, gave a rousing rendition of his standard stump speech late Friday in Seattle, railing against police brutality, a too-low minimum wage, soaring student debt and other ills.
"Real change historically always takes place from the bottom on up when millions of people come together," Sanders said to applause and cheers from the crowd in the city's Safeco Field baseball stadium.
"We need a political revolution!"
By contrast, Clinton has already shifted her focus toward November's general election.
She delivered a somber counterterrorism speech Wednesday in the aftermath of deadly attacks in Brussels, using it as an opportunity to launch vigorous assaults on Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and warn their "reckless" foreign policies would harm US interests.
"We need to rely on what actually works, not bluster that alienates our partners and doesn't make us any safer," she said.
Despite the huge gap with Clinton that he needs to fill, Sanders has refused to throw in the towel, repeatedly stressing that his grassroots campaign is heading all the way to July's nominating convention in Philadelphia.
A series of recent polls has shown Sanders consistently doing better than Clinton against Republicans Trump, Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Saturday's three contests are caucuses, essentially neighborhood meetings where voters can discuss political platforms and debate the merits of the candidates.
Since they generally require voters to show up in person rather than mailing primary ballots, the format favors Sanders, whose supporters have consistently shown more grassroots enthusiasm.
- Surprise visitor -
Millennials and first-time voters have been flocking to Sanders's message of economic equality, universal health care, and his call to reduce the influence of billionaires on the campaign finance system.
But the delegate math still dramatically favors Clinton.
According to RealClearPolitics poll averages, in the remaining states with the three largest delegate allocations -- California, New York and Pennsylvania -- Clinton leads Sanders by nine points, 34 points and 28 points respectively.
Despite that, Sanders had his supporters on their feet on the eve of voting, especially when during a rally that drew 11,000 in Portland, Oregon, a bird popped up and landed on the podium right in front of him as he addressed the crowd.
"I think there may be some symbolism in this," said an amused Sanders, after the bird spent a few moments with him before flying off.
"I know it doesn't look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace," he added, bringing the crowd to its feet once more.
"No more wars!"
A resilient Bernie Sanders sought to upset Hillary Clinton’s commanding lead as the western states of Alaska, Hawaii and Washington held caucuses on Saturday in the Democratic presidential nominating contest.
The biggest prize is Washington state, where 101 delegates are up for grabs. Hawaii has 25 delegates at stake while Alaska has 16.
Large crowds were reported at many caucus sites in Washington, and election officials in some areas said they had run out of registration forms.
Turnout was also high in Alaska with US television networks showing several hundred people waiting in line to vote at one location.
Shortly after the vote closed in Washington in early afternoon, CNN projections based on 10 percent of precincts reporting showed Sanders leading with 72.2 percent against 27.3 percent for Clinton.
Sanders also appeared to hold a commanding lead over Clinton as Alaska results began trickling in.
The vote in Hawaii was taking place later in the afternoon.
“We want our parents to retire in dignity… and I honestly think that Sanders can lead us in that direction,” one young voter said in Seattle, Washington as the caucus got underway.
A win for the Vermont senator in the trio of western caucuses would bring a much-needed boost to his campaign as he seeks to dent Clinton’s lead in the race to their party’s nomination.
– ‘Political revolution’ –
The former secretary of state has already amassed 1,711 delegates, including super-delegates who are unelected by voters, compared to 952 for Sanders, according to a CNN count.
To win the Democratic nomination, 2,383 delegates are needed.
Sanders, 74, gave a rousing rendition of his standard stump speech late Friday in Seattle, railing against police brutality, a too-low minimum wage, soaring student debt and other ills.
“Real change historically always takes place from the bottom on up when millions of people come together,” Sanders said to applause and cheers from the crowd in the city’s Safeco Field baseball stadium.
“We need a political revolution!”
By contrast, Clinton has already shifted her focus toward November’s general election.
She delivered a somber counterterrorism speech Wednesday in the aftermath of deadly attacks in Brussels, using it as an opportunity to launch vigorous assaults on Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and warn their “reckless” foreign policies would harm US interests.
“We need to rely on what actually works, not bluster that alienates our partners and doesn’t make us any safer,” she said.
Despite the huge gap with Clinton that he needs to fill, Sanders has refused to throw in the towel, repeatedly stressing that his grassroots campaign is heading all the way to July’s nominating convention in Philadelphia.
A series of recent polls has shown Sanders consistently doing better than Clinton against Republicans Trump, Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Saturday’s three contests are caucuses, essentially neighborhood meetings where voters can discuss political platforms and debate the merits of the candidates.
Since they generally require voters to show up in person rather than mailing primary ballots, the format favors Sanders, whose supporters have consistently shown more grassroots enthusiasm.
– Surprise visitor –
Millennials and first-time voters have been flocking to Sanders’s message of economic equality, universal health care, and his call to reduce the influence of billionaires on the campaign finance system.
But the delegate math still dramatically favors Clinton.
According to RealClearPolitics poll averages, in the remaining states with the three largest delegate allocations — California, New York and Pennsylvania — Clinton leads Sanders by nine points, 34 points and 28 points respectively.
Despite that, Sanders had his supporters on their feet on the eve of voting, especially when during a rally that drew 11,000 in Portland, Oregon, a bird popped up and landed on the podium right in front of him as he addressed the crowd.
“I think there may be some symbolism in this,” said an amused Sanders, after the bird spent a few moments with him before flying off.
“I know it doesn’t look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace,” he added, bringing the crowd to its feet once more.
“No more wars!”
