Bernie Sanders Wins 2016 Alaska Democratic Caucus: LATEST

UPDATE 8:40 p.m. (ET) :

Sen. Bernie Sanders trounced Hillary Clinton on Saturday in Alaska and Washington, giving him a big boost of momentum ahead of the next big contest, in Wisconsin April 5.

(100 percent of vote counted)

Sanders: 81 percent

Clinton: 19 percent

"Let me begin by thanking the people of Alaska for giving us a resounding victory," Bernie Sanders said speaking to an energized crowd in Madison, Wis., "And it appears with about 30 percent of the vote in Washington, we're up 75 percent."

Sanders acknowledged his campaign would have problems in the Deep South being a conservative part of the country. But, he added, "We also knew things were going to improve as we headed west. Well, we are making major inroads into Secretary Clinton's lead, and we have, with your support — coming to Wisconsin – we have a path toward victory."

He called his campaign one of momentum that has led to huge voter turnouts in state after state.

"Thank you, Alaska," Sanders wrote on Twitter shortly after being declared the winner.

• Democratic Caucus Results: Washington, Hawaii, Alaska
• Hawaii Democratic Caucus 2016 Live Results
• Live Democratic Washington Results
• Come back for full results as they're announced.

Sanders has also typically performed better in caucus states and some of his strongest performances have been in states where white voters are the vast majority.

The Alaska Democratic Party had more than 40 locations across the state for residents to participate in the caucus. Caucuses around the state.

Some caucus sites reported large crowds and long lines, KTVA reported.

• Click here to find your caucus location.

Of the three nominating contests being held Saturday, Alaska had the fewest number of delegates up for grabs. Officials expected more than 9,000 people in the state to take part in the caucus.

Sanders campaigned aggressively in western states ahead of Saturday's contests. He gave speeches in Seattle, Yakima, Wash. and Portland over the past week. Clinton has also been campaigning in Washington and has sent both Bill and Chelsea Clinton to the state to campaign on her behalf.

While neither Clinton nor Sanders traveled to Alaska to campaign, Sanders' wife Jane Sanders arrived in Anchorage of Thursday to campaign on her husband's behalf. Volunteers for both Clinton and Sanders were running last minute get-out-the-vote campaigns and Clinton appeared on an Anchorage pop radio show to answer questions. On Friday, the Clinton campaign released a robocall by former President Bill Clinton urging Democrats to vote.

» Photos by Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons