Nevada win boots Sanders’ front-runner status

Bernie Sanders has cemented his status as the Democratic front-runner to take on Donald Trump in November’s US presidential election.

He has a decisive lead over his rivals in the Nevada caucus, with results from half the precincts counted.

But there is a long way to go until a Democratic nominee is confirmed.

Results from Saturday’s vote also show former vice-president Joe Biden coming second, a better performance than in the two states which have voted so far.

He had underwhelming results in Iowa and New Hampshire. Those states kicked off the four-month long primaries process, in which candidates are jostling to convince voters why they are the best candidate to challenge Mr Trump.

So far, with 50 per cent of the ballots counted in Nevada, Mr Sanders, the left-wing senator for Vermont, has 47 per cent of the vote, ahead of Mr Biden on 19 per cent. The field is then split between a number of other moderates, with Pete Buttigieg on 15 per cent and Elizabeth Warren on 10 per cent.

Mr Sanders won in 11 of Nevada’s 17 counties.

Candidates who have won more than 15 per cent of the vote will be awarded delegates, who will then go to the party’s convention in July to support their Democratic candidate.

Before Saturday, Mr Sanders had 21 delegates, and while he will remain a long way off the 1,990 needed to become the nominee, victory in Nevada will bring him another small step closer towards that total.

The last caucuses in Iowa were plagued by technical glitches that meant results struggled to be recorded using a new app. While that app is not being used in Nevada, there are reports of volunteers struggling to connect to a telephone number used to record results. Organisers say results should start flowing soon.

In a victory speech in Texas on Saturday evening, Mr Sanders praised his “multi-generational, racial coalition” team of supporters, and attacked Mr Trump. “The American people are sick and tired of a president who lies all the time,” he said.

Mr Biden’s campaign was in buoyant mood too, declaring that “the comeback starts here”. In a tweet, Mr Trump praised Mr Sanders’ win, but also called him “Crazy Bernie”. -BBC