Bernie Sanders Wins In Washington And Alaska
KABUL: (MEP) Bernie Sanders, US presidential candidate has easily won the Democratic assemblies in Alaska and Washington state, as he tries to close the gap on Hillary Clinton.
The wins amid record turnout are reaffirmation of Sanders’ appeal to the Democratic base and served to encourage the Vermont senator to argue that his momentum — including recent wins in the Idaho and Utah caucuses — will carry him to the nomination.
In addition to those states, Democrats are also holding caucuses in Hawaii with a total of 142 delegates at stake this weekend.
Sanders entered the contests with the edge and the Clinton campaign had acknowledged he would win all three Western states.
Mr Sanders was projected to have won 72% of the vote in Washington against 27% for Mrs Clinton.
And US TV networks gave him about 79% of the vote in Alaska, against 21% for Mrs Clinton.
Sanders was speaking in Madison, Wisconsin, after his commanding win in Alaska when he was told he had won the second state of the day.
“OK, are you ready for a news alert? We just won the state of Washington!” Sanders told the crowd to cheers and applause. “That is what momentum is about.”
“So don’t let anybody, don’t let anybody tell you we can’t win the nomination or win the general election — we’re going to do both of those things,” Sanders said.
According to a CNN/ORC survey last week, Sanders has a 20-point lead over Republican front-runner Donald Trump in a head-to-head contest. Clinton held a 12-point lead over Trump in the same survey.
Late on Friday in Seattle’s Safeco baseball stadium, he repeated key elements of his policy platform, urging economic equality and universal health care.
He said: “Real change historically always takes place from the bottom on up when millions of people come together. We need a political revolution!”
Clinton built up her delegate lead on the back of a strong run in the South, and Sanders argued Saturday his campaign always knew those states would be tough. In Madison, he said the map now offers more opportunities for his campaign as the contest progressed, largely because his wins are being powered by huge turnout among younger voters.
