Democratic Primary Elections in Washington, Hawaii, Alaska Could Boost Bernie Sanders' Presidential Campaign
Republicans can rest at ease this Easter weekend, but for Democrats there are three presidential primary elections taking place on March 26.
Washington State
Washington State, where Latinos make up 12.2 percent of the population, hosts its Democratic Party presidential contest on Saturday with 101 delegates at stake, not including superdelegates. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has been campaigning hard in the state. With 334,000 eligible Latino voters, Sanders has been hosting large campaign rallies, including one scheduled for Friday at Safeco Field, which seats over 54,000 people.
On Thursday, he campaigned in the SunDome, a treaty territory of the Yakama Nation, with 7,000 people in attendance.
"Native Americans have been lied to. They've been cheated," Sanders said, according to his campaign. "If elected president, there will be a new relationship with the Native American community."
Sanders took an environmental approach on Thursday, stating the Native Americans understood humanity's place as part of nature and obligation to help the planet survive. The Vermont senator added he will tackle big oil companies that have played a negative role in climate change.
Sanders might have an advantage in Washington, since the state doesn't host primaries but caucuses. On March 22, Sanders won the Idaho and Utah caucuses, and he has won every caucus so far except Iowa, Nevada and American Samoa.
Republicans will hosts their Washington primary on May 24.
Hawaii Caucus
There's another caucus in Hawaii, where 25 delegates are available. The state is home to nearly 142,000 Latinos, including 85,000 Latino eligible voters. The caucuses start at 1 p.m. local time, but polling information has been scarce to determine who has an advantage in the state.
In 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., crushed rival Hillary Clinton with almost 76 percent of the vote.
Republicans held their Hawaii caucus on March 8. Businessman Donald Trump won with 42.4 percent, ahead of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at 32.7 percent. Fellow GOP candidate John Kasich placed fourth, behind Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, who did not win delegates.
Alaska Caucus
Finally, Alaska will host its Democratic presidential caucus as well. Polling information is unavailable, per RealClearPolitics, in the state with a 6.8 percent Latino population and where 16 delegates are at stake, not including the superdelegates.
Republicans hosted their Alaska caucus on March 1. Cruz narrowly won with 36.4 percent and Trump followed with 33.5 percent.
Delegate Count Update
According to RealClearPolitics, Clinton leads the pledged delegate count with 1,223, but her count increases to 1,691 with superdelegates. Sanders has 920 pledged delegates, while 29 superdelegates increase his count to 949. A Democratic presidential candidate has to win 2,382 of the 4,763 delegates to win the party's nomination.
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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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