Hillary Clinton did win the Nevada caucuses but Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders' campaign has plenty of reasons to stay positive on the campaign trail.

On Feb. 20, Clinton won the caucuses with 53 percent to Sanders' 47 percent, scoring 6,365 delegates to 5,710 delegates, respectively as of Monday afternoon.

Mixed Expectations Spin

For weeks, perhaps months, prior to the Nevada caucus, Clinton was widely, and comfortably, expected to win the state, but as a Sanders email to supporters acknowledged, the former secretary of state narrowly surpassed the Vermont senator in the delegate count. Of the 35 delegates up for grabs, Clinton's Nevada won 19, just a few more than 15 delegates that went to Sanders.

In a statement released on Saturday, Sanders acknowledged he called Clinton to congratulate her win but he was still proud of his campaign in the state.

"I am very proud of the campaign we ran. 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," Sanders said. "I am also proud of the fact that we have brought many working people and young people into the political process and believe that we have the wind at our back as we head toward Super Tuesday. I want to thank the people of Nevada for their support that they have given us and the boost that their support will give us as we go forward."

According to Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, a progressive organization, Sanders' Nevada peformance proved he can compete against an established candidate such as Clinton.

"A few weeks ago, skeptics rejected the idea that Bernie would even be competitive in Nevada. Yet today, he has won a substantial share of the state's delegates, demonstrating that he can be competitive across the country. The skeptics were wrong -- Bernie's message is resonating across diverse communities and his campaign is gaining support everywhere it goes. The results in Nevada prove that we have a real race for the Democratic nomination," said Sheyman, adding that Sanders is "well positioned heading to South Carolina, Super Tuesday and beyond."

Taking into account Clinton's Iowa win and Sanders' New Hampshire primary win, Clinton leads the overall delegate count with 502 delegates to Sanders' 70. Clinton appears to have an overwhelmingly lead but that's due to superdelegates, who are delegates who have already allocated their support to a candidate even before the state's primary or caucus.

Funding

Without the superdelegates, the delegate count can be considered close, but one area where the Sanders campaign is leading is funding. His presidential campaign raised nearly $21.3 million in January, once again from small donors who donated an average $27. Since the launch of his presidential bid on April 30 to Jan. 31, ahead of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing, Sanders' campaign raised $94.8 million. from more than four million contributions.

"Our campaign is a strong grassroots movement supported by middle-class Americans from working families, not billionaires trying to buy elections," said Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver in a statement regarding the donations. "This campaign is built for the long haul and is drawing millions of new people into the process."

But with more donations, there is also more spending. The Sanders campaign did outspend Clinton in January, spending $34.9 million, over $15 million more than the former New York senator's campaign.

Did Anyone "Win" the Latino Vote?

The caucus method makes it slightly difficult to determine who really won the Latino vote and by what standards. A statement from the Sanders campaign states the Vermont senator won the Latino vote but the Clinton campaign thinks otherwise. Citing entrance polls, the Sanders campaign states it won the Latino vote by eight more percentage points.

"What we learned today is Hillary Clinton's firewall with Latino voters is a myth," Sanders campaign Deputy Political Director Arturo Carmona said. "The Latino community responded strongly to Bernie Sanders' message of immigration reform and creating an economy that works for all families. This is critically important as we move ahead to states like Colorado, Arizona, Texas and California."

Meanwhile, Clinton traveling press secretary Nick Merrill utilized Twitter to respond to Carmona's statement.

The Clinton campaign dismissed the entrance poll since there was broad-based turnout.

Clinton and Sanders' next election is the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, scheduled for Feb. 27.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.