Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Beie Sanders on Saturday won the Wyoming Democratic caucuses to extend his wiing streak, while GOP White House candidates compete for delegates in the Colorado state party convention.
Sanders had 56 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent for primary frontruer Hillary Clinton, with 96 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press, which called the race for Sanders.
Sanders has won seven of the last eight contests. Wyoming had only 14 delegates at stake, but another victory would help Sanders fuel that narrative about his campaign having momentum and potentially upsetting Clinton in her home state New York primary on April 19.
“It’s a beautiful state,” Sanders said at LaGuardia Community College, on the campaign trail in New York. “Thank you Wyoming.”
Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday locked up the support of 21 Colorado delegates and will try for 13 more on Saturday.
Cruz was the only GOP White House candidate to speak at the convention, though front-ruer Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich each sent surrogates.
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“We’ll see moing in America again,” Cruz told the convention crowd in a speech full of conservative touchtone like “reigning in the EPA” and defeating “radical Islamic terrorists.”
Cruz on Friday won every assembly in the state's seven congressional districts, which began April 2 and culminated Friday.
According to an Associated Press count, Trump has 743 delegates, Cruz has 532 and Kasich has 143. It takes 1,237 to clinch the nomination, though there's a real chance no candidate will reach that mark by the national convention in Cleveland in July.
Of Cruz's Colorado delegates before Saturday, only 17 were formally pledged to him. But they were all included on the senator's slates and are largely state party officials who said they were barred from signing a formal pledge for Cruz but have promised to back him in balloting at the convention.
In Wyoming, Democrats in 23 counties caucused. The 14 delegates that were up for grabs are among the state’s 18 that will go to the Democratic National Convention, also in July.
“Once the inevitable frontruer, Hillary Clinton has now lost her seventh straight contest," said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. "This embarrassing string of defeats to a 74-year old socialist from Vermont is another reminder of what a desperately flawed candidate she is, and how beatable she will be in November if she becomes the nominee."
Before Saturday, Clinton had 1,280 delegates compared to 1,030 for Sanders. And the count was 1,749-to-1,061 for Clinton when adding in super delegates. Either will need 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.
They both made stops Saturday in New York City, including Clinton at the famous Original Juniors restaurant in Brooklyn and Sanders at a diner in Long Island City and Bronx Community College.
At the college, Sanders essentially stuck to the major points of his campaign including calls for a more fair tax system. While he appeared to stop the recent attacks on Clinton, he did go after Trump.
“Donald Trump -- not that smart,” Sanders said. “That’s what demagogues like Donald Trump do. And don't give him too much credit. He didn't invent it. He's not that smart. They (are) trying and divide us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.