Super Tuesday Results: Colorado Easily 'Feels the Bern' for Bernie Sanders with Caucus Victory
Colorado, where 1 in 10 registered voter is Latino, overwhelmingly favored Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Super Tuesday.
Winning Colorado
After the Colorado Democratic Party caucus' votes were counted on March 1, Sanders received 71,627 votes, which was enough for 59.3 percent of the total vote. Clinton was double digits behind the Vermont senator, receiving, 49,102 votes, or 40.7 percent.
Of the 64 counties in Colorado, Sanders won all but 12 counties. Douglas County appeared to be among the closest of results, winning 49.68 percent to 49.58, just five votes making the difference for the self-proclaimed Democratic socialist. In Denver, Sanders comfortably won with 54.36 percent of the vote to 44.97 for Clinton. Percentage-wise, Sanders hit a peak in San Miguel County, where he received 78.33 percent to Clinton's 21.19 percent -- although the actual vote count was lower compared to Denver with 420 total voters.
Overall, the Colorado Democratic Party celebrated the caucus turnout with more than 120,000 participating. According to Rick Palacio, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, turnout surpassed 2008's caucus attendance.
It's official, @coloradodems just surpassed our '08 caucus attendance with 98% reporting 121,132 and counting! #copolitics #CODemCaucus
— Rick Palacio (@RickPalacio) March 2, 2016
Thank you to the more than 120,000 Coloradans who came to #CODemCaucus! Proud of the amazing turnout to make CO voices heard. #copolitics — Colorado Dems (@coloradodems) March 2, 2016
In a message to supporters, Sanders, who also won Minnesota, Oklahoma and Vermont on Tuesday, said the addition of the Colorado win shows the political revolution has begun.
"Ten months ago, when our campaign started, not many people thought we would get this far or do this well. Not many people outside of Vermont even knew who I was. That was then. Tonight, voters in Colorado, Oklahoma and Minnesota have joined the people of Vermont in showing America that a political revolution is spreading across our country, that people want to take on the billionaire class and make our government work for all Americans and not just the top 1 percent," Sanders said in a statement.
Sanders is determined to keep campaigning and will travel to Maine and Michigan on Wednesday.
"Our campaign is just getting started. We're going all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and beyond. ... I look forward to a contest this fall between democracy and demagoguery, between ordinary Americans and the oligarchs. I look forward to the chance for our people-powered campaign to show Donald Trump that the United States of America belongs to all of us and not just billionaire bullies," added Sanders.
In Colorado, 66 delegates were available plus an additional 12 superdelegates. Sanders will not win all of Colorado's delegates but will get most compared to Clinton. The Vermont senator, however, is still short in the overall delegate count compared to the former New York senator. Nationally, RealClearPolitics projects Clinton has 1,000 delegates to 371 delegates for Sanders. Clinton's lead is boosted through superdelegates, accounting for 712 delegates. In the end, a Democratic presidential candidate requires 2,382 delegates to clinch the party's nomination.
According to CNN, Colorado's Republican caucus will take place on April 9.
Power of the Latino Vote
While there were no entrance or exit polling data collected at the Colorado caucus, the Latino vote has been expected to play a role in the current election season.
Latinos, representing 21 percent of Colorado's population, account for over 360,000 of the state's registered voters. According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, one in every 10 Coloradans are Latino, based on December 2015 data. Colorado's Latino voters is expected to increase come Election Day this November with more than 277,500 expected to cast their vote. The Election Day projection is an increase of 7.1 percent in regards to turnout but 5.6 percent decrease in the Latino share of the vote from 2012.
Latino voter turnout has been influential in presidential elections, increasing by 101 percent between 1996 and 2012 -- growing from 129,000 to 259,000.
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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.
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