US networks projected Sanders winning by wide margins in both western states where 117 delegates are up for grabs - 101 in Washington and 16 in Alaska.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally
at Safeco Field in Seattle on Mar 25, 2016. (Photo: AFP/Jason Redmond)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally
at Rainer Beach High School in Seattle on Mar 22, 2016. (Photo:
AFP/Jason Redmond)
Bernie Sanders supporters pose for photo with their signs at a rally at
Safeco Field in Seattle on Mar 25, 2016. (Photo: AFP/Jason Redmond)
Supporters hold signs as they line up to see Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton at Rainer Beach High School in Seattle on Mar
22, 2016. (Photo: AFP/Jason Redmond)
SEATTLE: Bernie Sanders won the Democratic caucuses in
Alaska and Washington on Saturday (Mar 26), giving his campaign a
much-needed boost as he seeks to disrupt Hillary Clinton's path to the
party's presidential nomination.
US networks projected Sanders winning by wide margins in both western
states where 117 delegates are up for grabs - 101 in Washington and 16
in Alaska.
The Vermont senator and the former secretary of state were
also facing off Saturday in Hawaii, where 25 delegates are at stake. The
results for that contest were expected later in the evening.
Appearing at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, Sanders said his
victories in two of the three caucuses where voters turned out in high
numbers showed that the tide was turning in his favour.
"We are making significant inroads in Secretary Clinton's lead and we have ... a path toward victory," he told a cheering crowd.
US networks projected Sanders winning 79.2 per cent against 20.8 per
cent for Clinton in Alaska. In Washington, he was projected to win 74.6
per cent against 25.1 for Clinton.
"What momentum is about is in election after election,
winning the overwhelming percentage of young people who are
participating," Sanders told his supporters in Wisconsin. "And by young,
I don't mean just the very young. The older you get, the younger the
age appears."
A win for the Vermont senator in the trio of western
caucuses would bring momentum to his campaign as he seeks to dent
Clinton's lead in the race to their party's nomination.
Going into Saturday, Clinton had already amassed 1,711 delegates,
including super-delegates who are unelected by voters, compared to 952
for Sanders, according to a CNN count.
Supporters hold signs as they line up to
see Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Rainer Beach
High School in Seattle on Mar 22, 2016. (Photo: AFP/Jason Redmond)
'POLITICAL REVOLUTION'
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 sombre counter-terrorism 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.
Bernie Sanders supporters pose for photo
with their signs at a rally at Safeco Field in Seattle on Mar 25, 2016.
(Photo: AFP/Jason Redmond)
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
neighbourhood 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 favours Sanders, whose
supporters have consistently shown more grassroots enthusiasm.
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 favours 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.
- AFP/ec
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