Bernie Sanders claims big win in Nevada caucuses

Bernie Sanders' convincing win in the Nevada caucuses signaled his campaign is gathering strength and reaching voters who had previously eluded him, putting him on a path - for now - toward the Democratic presidential nomination.

The self-described democratic socialist's triumph on Feb. 22 left all of his rivals contending they were best positioned to curb his momentum.
With the South Carolina primary a week away and the big Super Tuesday nominating contests days later, here is what the Nevada results mean for the top candidates:
Bernie Sanders:
Although Sanders had been poised to do well in Nevada, the senator from Vermont may have outpaced expectations by broadening his coalition of voters.

According to caucus entrance polls conducted by Edison Research, Sanders crushed the rest of the field with Latino voters and finished second only to Joe Biden with black voters. He was the top choice of voters younger than 65. He also won with college graduates and those without a degree, both men and women.

Sanders was easily the top pick of voters who consider themselves independents. And perhaps most crucially for his campaign, he was favored over Biden among voters whose top priority is defeating President Donald Trump in the November general election.

All of it is good news for Sanders. If he can pull off a surprise win in South Carolina on Feb. 29, he will be heading into the Super Tuesday contests on March 3 on a roll.
Joe Biden:
The former vice president's caucus night rally in Las Vegas was jubilant, with someone in the crowd calling Biden "the comeback kid" as early results showed him in second place.

Not long ago, the former vice president was the favorite in Nevada. But...