Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won a narrow victory in Nevada’s Democratic caucus – but the primary was held on a Saturday and therefore excluded all observant Jewish voters.
Even so, the heavy turnout indicated that Clinton is going to face an uphill battle even in states she thought she might win handily. At the end, with 85 percent of the precincts reporting in Nevada, the two-time First Lady won 53-47.
Sanders congratulated Clinton on her victory and said he looked forward to the primaries and caucuses ahead.
The Republican contest in South Carolina on the same day involved a far broader field, but Donald Trump again triumphed with 33 percent, although his victory margin has narrowed. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio battled for second place with 99 percent of the precincts reporting; Rubio had a slim lead with slightly more than 22 percent. Rubio had placed third in Iowa, where Cruz won.
Jeb Bush decided to suspend his campaign after a night in which the numbers made it clear he was just not in the picture for this year’s run. It is not yet clear to whom he will encourage his supporters to turn.
At his victory rally, Trump dismissed the idea that other candidates would benefit from Bush’s decision to end his campaign. “[Analysts] don’t understand that as people drop out, I’m going to get a lot of those votes,” he said. He acknowledged the negative turn the race had taken, saying it had become “mean” and “vicious” but added, “When you win, it’s beautiful.”
In typical businessman manner, he ended his speech as if closing a deal: “Let’s put this thing away, and let’s make America great again.”