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Sweeping victories in Washington, Alaska boost Sanders' bid

Xinhua, March 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders scored big wins in two U.S. state caucuses on Saturday, boosting his competition with Hillary Clinton for party nomination.

With 86 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders swept the state of Washington with 71.7 percent of support.

Up to 101 delegates were up for grabs in Washington, and Sanders' big win there was crucial for him to argue that the race for the Democratic nomination was not a foregone conclusion.

Sanders entered Saturday with 920 pledged delegates, trailing Clinton by 303, but his landslide in Washington would help him make a dent in Clinton's delegate lead.

Sanders also crushed Clinton in the Alaska caucuses, winning 80.7 percent of the vote. Sanders took 13 of the state's 16 delegates, according to the latest New York Times delegate count.

The Democratic Hawaii caucuses were still under way, and 25 pledged delegates were up for grabs there.

Unlike Republican nomination contests, the Democratic field allot pledged delegates proportionally based on state-by-state contests.

To win the party's nomination, a Democratic candidate needs to win over 2,383 delegates, including unpledged delegates, who at the moment overwhelmingly support Clinton. Endi