2016 Nevada Democratic Caucuses Winner: Hillary Clinton Handily Beats Bernie Sanders

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the 2016 Nevada Democratic Caucuses in a tight race over rival Bernie Sanders, several major news networks were projecting.

With 85 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton held a 53 to 47 percent lead over Sanders, according to the Nevada State Democratic Party.

“To all my supporters out there: Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other. This one’s for you,” Clinton told a crowd of supporters after the race had been called. “Americans are right to be angry, but we’re also hungry for real solutions.”

Clinton, long expected to win the third state to vote for the Democratic nomination, had seen her polling lead shrivel in recent weeks but fended off a late surge from Sanders to win the state.

“I am very proud of the campaign we ran,” Sanders said in a statement. “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.”

Republicans in South Carolina were also voting in the first of the southern primaries on Saturday. Polls close there at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, and Patch will have South Carolina Republican Primary results here as the votes begin to roll in.

SEE ALSO

• Clinton’s Lead Narrows in Nevada, Sanders Gains Ground in South Carolina
• 2016 South Carolina GOP Primary Results: Voting Under Way

Polls pointed to a photo finish in a state where Clinton had been expected to walk away with a lion’s share of the 35 delegates at stake. A 23-point lead over Sanders in July slipped to 20 points in December and has now evaporated to only 5 points.

Clinton still was expected to win despite her free fall in the polls, though trying to forecast the outcome of Nevada’s caucuses has historically been as difficult as trying to predict the result of a card draw.

Nevada poll numbers are famously suspect, largely because of the limited reach of landline-based polls in a population that is transient and has low voter registration numbers.

In the first of the early caucuses, Iowa, results in some precincts were so close they were settled by a coin toss.

But, fittingly, Nevada Democrats use a fresh deck of playing cards to decide ties, and under some very specific guidelines. For example, the deck must be shuffled seven — not six, and not five, but seven — times, and spades trump diamonds.

At least one precinct had already done as much Saturday afternoon:

Come back to Patch for the results as they come in.

» Photos by Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons