I’d been looking for some clarity about the Nevada Caucus.
Las Vegas Review-Journal published a table showing the caucus results, with 100% of precincts reporting.
|
Delegate Equivalents |
Percent |
First Alignment |
Percent |
Final Alignment |
Percent |
Bernie Sanders |
6,788 |
46.8% |
35,652 |
34.0% |
41,075 |
40.5% |
Joe Biden |
2,927 |
20.2% |
18,424 |
17.6% |
19,179 |
18.9% |
Pete Buttigieg |
2,073 |
14.3% |
16,102 |
15.4% |
17,598 |
17.3% |
Elizabeth Warren |
1,406 |
9.7% |
13,438 |
12.8% |
11,703 |
11.5% |
Tom Steyer |
682 |
4.7% |
9,503 |
9.1% |
4,120 |
4.1% |
Amy Klobuchar |
603 |
4.2% |
10,100 |
9.6% |
7,376 |
7.3% |
Tulsi Gabbard |
4 |
0.0% |
353 |
0.3% |
32 |
0.0% |
Andrew Yang |
1 |
0.0% |
612 |
0.6% |
49 |
0.0% |
Michael Bennet |
0 |
0.0% |
140 |
0.1% |
36 |
0.0% |
Deval Patrick |
0 |
0.0% |
86 |
0.1% |
8 |
0.0% |
John Delaney |
0 |
0.0% |
1 |
0.0% |
0 |
0.0% |
Uncommitted |
7 |
0.0% |
472 |
0.5% |
367 |
0.4% |
Totals |
14,491 |
100% |
104,883 |
100% |
101.543 |
100% |
Nevada Democratic Party press release on the caucus included some good news.
Here's a by-the-numbers look:
- Roughly 105,000 Nevadans total participated in their precinct caucus
- Nearly 75,000 turned out during the historic four days of in-person early voting
- 30,000 turned out on Caucus Day
- Total turnout was more than 21,000 higher than in 2016
- 35% of Nevadans who caucused were non-white according to entrance polls
- A majority of Nevadans who caucused were first-time caucus-goers
So, how about that context so we can understand the results a bit better.
The turnout was almost as good as 2008 — when approximately 108,000 Democrats turned out.
- Of course, 2008 did not have "early voting."
- Since 2008, the Nevada voting age population has gone up 25%.
- Democratic party total registrations have gone up 37%.
- Democratic active registrations have gone up almost 50%.
And the increase of 21,000 from the 2016 caucus? Going up from 84,000 to 105,000 is almost 25%.
- 2016 did not have the 4 days of early voting.
- 2016 had only 2 effective campaigns pushing turnout. This year, there were at least 5.
- In those four years, Nevada’s voting age population went up 8%.
- Democratic registrations are up 19%.
- Active registrations are up 29%.
United States Elections Project is keeping track of participation in the various contests leading up to the Democratic National Convention. The Project calculates voting-age-population (VAP — 18+ years old) and voting-eligible-population (VEP: VAP minus ineligibles, such as non-citizens and felons) for elections. By the calculation there, the 105,000 who participated made up 4.9% of the VEP
The best news I read about the 2020 Nevada Caucus? Another press release from the Nevada Democrats said
Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II issued the following statement on the successful caucus and what’s next for the process:
“I’m proud of our thousands of volunteers who worked so hard to make this caucus process run as smoothly as possible and inspired by the grassroots enthusiasm of the tens of thousands of voters who turned out to make their voices heard. Our state party team worked tirelessly and put in years of planning to prepare for this caucus, and we’re so grateful to the Nevadans who gave their time and energy to help us run our most transparent and accessible caucus ever. We accomplished so much together, and showcased to the nation what a diverse electorate actually looks like.
“With all of that said, I believe we need to start having a serious conversation ahead of next cycle about the limitations of the caucus process and the rules around it. If our goal is to bring as many Nevada Democrats as possible into the fold to select our presidential nominee, it’s time for our State Party and elected leaders to look at shifting to a primary process moving forward.” (my emphasis)