Bernie, Latinos, and the Nevada Caucus: What One State Says About the Future of the Country

Bernie Sanders Nevada BeLatina Latinx
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When it comes to the Democratic Primary, Nevada is to Latinos what Iowa is to the rest of the country.

We had previously suggested that the third stop in the primary would be the first state with a majority population of color: Nevada, with about 789,000 Hispanics throughout its territory equivalent to 29 percent of its population.

Between diverse motivations for going to the polls, and a strong young demographic and lots offirst-time voters in the state, it’s no wonder Senator Bernie Sanders was victorious last weekend, especially after sweeping the votes of the Latino community.

For the first time, the Vermont senator significantly distanced himself from his opponents with 46.6% of the vote, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden with 19.2% which means that “there is no longer an asterisk next to his status as the front-runner in the race,” as the Associated Press wrote.

This was largely due to his ability to “capture” the diverse majorities that make up the Nevada Democratic voters, “including voters younger than 45, those who call themselves ‘very liberal’ and Hispanic voters, who make up nearly one-fifth of caucusgoers,” explained Politico.

Sanders won 51% of the Latino Democratic vote in Nevada, the vast majority of non-white voters in the state, surpassing former Vice President Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren by more than 30 points, and thanks in part to his health care proposal, according to the New York Times report.

What Does This Mean for the Country?

Despite the growing antagonism that the Democratic primary system, as well as the Electoral College, has engendered, there is one key issue that can be drawn from the Nevada experience.

As Axios explained, the Nevada caucus “will foreshadow the future of American politics well beyond 2020” because of its representativeness of the “demographic transformation” the country is undergoing.

For example, as the media cites, if trends recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau are projected into the near future, the United States “is on track to become a minority White by 2045,” something that is already happening in Nevada and four other states.

Similarly, expectations about the Hispanic population in the country are that they will represent 25% of the population within 25 years, while in Nevada they already represent 29% of the population.

Will this also mean that the country will be 51% progressive in the future?

The decision of the rest of the Latinos in the country in view of the 2020 elections could be the key to deciding precisely that.

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