Hillary Clinton Projected Winner Of Nevada Caucuses [Breaking]

Hillary Clinton has won the Nevada democratic caucuses, projects CNN. The announcement of Hillary Clinton’s projected victory in the close race comes with 72 percent of the vote counted and Clinton holding a close but steady lead against democratic rival Bernie Sanders. The former First Lady currently has 52.2 percent of the vote, compared to 47.7 percent for Sanders.

While the remaining votes have yet to be tallied, CNN is also reporting that Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has called Hillary Clinton to congratulate her on her Nevada win.

USA Today is also reporting that Hillary Clinton has claimed victory in the Nevada race, something that seemed all but guaranteed just weeks ago. However, in the last few weeks, what was once a given for Clinton began to be questioned as her 20 point lead dwindled down to a statistical tie with rising star Sanders, who has stepped in and claimed much of the collegiate and youth vote, much like Barrack Obama did in 2008.

This projected win at the Nevada caucuses comes following a Democratic primary season that has been a bit of a let-down for Hillary Clinton, who barely scraped by in Iowa and lost to Sanders by 22 points in New Hampshire.

Hillary claimed victory at all six at-large precincts, which were created on the Las Vegas strip so that workers at casinos and hotels in the area could cast their ballot for their Democratic candidate of choice, the Nevada Democratic Party indicates. Clinton was able to sweep more than double the number of delegate as Sanders at the Paris casino, where the employees voting are almost entirely minorities — Hispanic and African American.

Hillary Clinton was overwhelmingly supported by the African American community in Nevada, while Sanders “did better than expected” among Latinos. Clinton is reportedly counting on her support among the African American community to help carry her campaign forward and provide big wins in the Southern United States in March.

Clinton won all six at-large precincts set up on Las Vegas Strip for on-duty casino and hotel shift workers on Saturday, Nevada Democratic Party results showed. At the Paris casino, the caucusgoers were almost exclusively Latino and black – and Clinton snagged more than twice the delegates Sanders received.

Sanders did better than expected with Latino voters, entrance polling showed, but Clinton carried off a big win with African American voters — a segment of the population she’s counting on to help her win in the Southern states that vote next month.

The Nevada caucuses were a first for Sanders among “more diverse states,” where he hoped to do better. USA Today is calling his performance among minority voters “a blow to Sanders.”

Despite his loss to Hillary Clinton, Sanders recently claimed to be very proud of his campaign, especially considering the amount of progress he and they have recently made against Hillary, who just last year was the presumed Democratic presidential nominee.

“Five weeks ago we were 25 points behind and we ended up in a very close election. And we probably will leave Nevada with a solid share of the delegates.”

Despite the Sanders loss in Nevada, he has proven to be more of an opponent than Hillary Clinton was expecting months or even weeks ago. If Clinton had been unable to turn out a win against Bernie Sanders in Nevada, it would have been a (possibly critical) blow to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The virtual tie with Sanders that has plagued the former secretary of state has led to some serious campaigning and concern from the Clinton camp. Fortunately for Hillary Clinton, today’s projected win in Nevada gives her some more secure footing going into Super Tuesday.

[Image Courtesy Of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]