Nevada’s result may serve to entrench Bernie Sanders’s status as national Democratic frontrunner before “Super Tuesday” on March 3, when 14 states vote including delegate-rich California and Texas (Frederic J. BROWN)

Las Vegas (AFP) – Leftist Bernie Sanders took an early lead Saturday in Nevada’s caucuses, the third nominating contest for Democrats in their high-stakes process to see who will challenge Republican Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.

Early results from about four percent of the more than 2,000 precincts in the state show Sanders, a 78-year-old senator from Vermont, with a comfortable lead against his rivals.

Former vice president Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Elizabeth Warren are likely battling for second in the contest that marks the first time a western state and a diverse electorate is weighing in on the 2020 presidential race.

If Nevada’s early result holds, as expected, it may serve to entrench Sanders’s status as national frontrunner before “Super Tuesday” on March 3, when 14 states vote including delegate-rich California and Texas.

A strong finish could provide a much-needed boost for one of the moderate candidates desperate to halt Sanders’s rise.

In Las Vegas, caucuses were held in several of the city’s world-famous casinos and hotels. In a cavernous ballroom in the luxurious Bellagio Hotel, casino workers assembled under ornate chandeliers to caucus before hurrying back to work. 

– ‘Very, very low-tech’ –

Officials in Nevada, keen to avoid the drawn-out embarrassment of the Iowa caucus, which relied on flawed technology to relay results, pivoted to a “very, very low-tech” system, said Jon Summers, a senior advisor to the state Democratic Party.

Officials will phone in results from the state’s voting locations, backed up with photographs of paper count sheets.

The Democratic race is entering an urgent phase. Any momentum from Nevada, and South Carolina which votes on February 29, could prove decisive. Poor showings could signal a death knell for some campaigns.

With eight contenders still seeking the Democratic nomination, Sanders is leading nationally, polling at an average of 28 percent support. 

That is 11 percentage points ahead of second-place Biden and 13 points ahead of billionaire media tycoon Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York who skipped campaigning in the four early states in order to focus on Super Tuesday. 

A confident Sanders was in high spirits Saturday and already moved on from Nevada to host a rally in El Paso, Texas, where a few thousand supporters cheered him on his promised action on health care, climate change and economic inequality.

“It is not acceptable that we are living in a society where so few have so much, and so many have so little,” said Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist.

– Focus on Bloomberg –

Recently, Sanders has been largely unchecked by opponents focused more on blunting the advance of Bloomberg, who has poured a record $438 million of his personal fortune into campaign advertising.

Nevada’s diverse Democratic electorate, one third of whom are Hispanic, may present a fresh challenge for moderates like Buttigieg and Klobuchar, who up until now have struggled to win minority voters.

The race’s other centrist, Biden — once the frontrunner — is desperate to right a listing ship.

After humiliating performances by the 77-year-old senior statesman in the first contests, in Iowa and New Hampshire, another poor showing could spell disaster.

Warren, whose campaign has stagnated, hopes her standout performance in Wednesday’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas — where she eviscerated Bloomberg over women’s misconduct claims against him — will earn Nevadans’ respect.

– Hoping to avoid chaos –

With Democrats barnstorming the state, Trump rallied supporters Friday in Las Vegas, where he savaged the “sick” and “radical socialist” contenders for his job.

Sanders is “crazy,” Warren is “a mess” and Biden is “angry,” while Bloomberg was “gasping for breath” after the debate, the president said.

Nevada votes in a caucus format. Unlike in a primary, where voting is by secret ballot, caucus goers attend precinct gatherings where they vote publicly by standing with fellow supporters of their chosen candidate.

Democratic officials insisted the disarray over Iowa’s results would not be repeated.

Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez told reporters that while the goal was to have results by Saturday night, the more important objective was “to get it right.”

Trump nonetheless sought to sow doubt.

“I heard their computers are all messed up just like Iowa,” he told his rally, citing no evidence.

Summers, the Democratic Party advisor, gave that warning short shrift.

“As usual, he has no idea what he’s talking about,” he said. 

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.