Update at 9:28 p.m.: As expected, Hillary Clinton easily won Louisiana’s Democratic primary, the biggest victory of Saturday. Clinton’s win was very much expected and major news networks called the race shortly after the polls closed. With less than one percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had more than 70 percent of the vote.
Bernie Sanders ended strong on Saturday, winning the two caucuses of the night in Kansas and Nebraska. The victories, however, may not be as positive for the Vermont senator as it may seem at first. With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders had a 10-point margin of victory over Clinton with 55 percent-45 percent. If that holds, it would be good news for Clinton because she would receive almost the same number of delegates as Sanders in Nebraska while racking up a huge advantage in Louisiana. In Kansas though, Sanders was the big winner, obtaining 23 out of the state’s 33 delegates.
Original post at 8:52 p.m.: Bernie Sanders began “Super Saturday” with an expected victory in the Kansas caucuses. The win was announced by the Kansas Democratic Party, which did not announce the margin of victory. The party did say turnout was larger than in 2008.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign had already made it clear the former secretary of State would likely lose Nebraska or Kansas, if not both. But it still expressed confidence she will come out ahead in the delegate count once Louisiana’s results are tallied. “He will win states, we will rack up delegates,” one Clinton aide told CNN. Clinton’s campaign is pushing the message that Hillary Clinton has a bigger lead in delegates than Obama did back in 2008.
Still, for Sanders a strong performance on Saturday could be what he needs to show he’s still in the race. More importantly, it could give him some badly needed momentum before Tuesday’s critical primary in Michigan.
