DENVER – Bernie Sanders upset Hillary Clinton on Tuesday in Colorado’s Democratic presidential caucuses, a nonbinding poll that nevertheless gives the Vermont senator an important boost in his quest for the Democratic nomination.
Sanders generated an impressive turnout among young adults at the precinct caucuses. Most of Colorado’s Democratic Party establishment endorsed Clinton, and most expect her to eventually win the nomination.
Colorado Democrats officially select their presidential delegates at a state convention in April.
Clinton’s campaign launched its caucus organizing in September, and Clinton spoke out on Colorado issues, praising the reopening of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs that was attacked by a self-proclaimed anti-abortion gunman in November.
Her husband, President Bill Clinton, and daughter Chelsea Clinton campaigned here on her behalf.
Sanders rapidly built support in recent weeks by appealing to young adults and many independents who had to register as Democrats by Jan. 4 to participate in the Democratic caucuses. He paid two visits to Colorado – one to the friendly venue of Boulder, where he addressed thousands of students at the University of Colorado. He drew thousands more in Denver last month before appearing with Clinton at a state Democratic dinner.
There are several rounds to go before Colorado Democrats select their presidential delegates at a state party assembly in April.
Colorado’s caucuses also are not a reliable predictor of the state’s eventual preferences: In 2012, Rick Santorum upset Mitt Romney in the straw poll, stunning political analysts who expected Romney to repeat his 2008 victory here. But Romney went on to get the most Colorado delegates at a GOP state assembly.
This time, state Republicans didn’t select a presidential winner because they objected to national GOP rules requiring that caucus delegates vote for their candidates regardless of what happens in the campaign. Withholding delegates increases the state GOP’s clout in helping select a Republican candidate from the current crowded field.
In recent weeks, Clinton sharpened her arguments that Sanders is pitching unrealistic ideas to eradicate income inequality and that she has closer ties to minority voters, including Latinos who comprise 20 percent of Colorado’s population.
Clinton has a mixed record in Colorado. In 2008, she lost the Democratic caucuses to Barack Obama, who went on to accept the party’s presidential nomination in Denver. He won the state in 2008 and 2012.
