Sanders wins Maine caucuses

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won Maine’s Democratic caucuses Sunday.

Sanders had 64 percent to Hillary Clinton’s 36 percent after the final caucuses wrapped up at 8 p.m. He will get 14 delegates from the contest, while Clinton will get 6 delegates, according to The New York Times.

There were several reports of high turnout throughout the day.

In Portland, a line to get into one caucus site was more than a mile long by some estimates. Sanders has benefited from that sort of turnout, and the caucus system more broadly, before.

A state lawmaker reportedly said he would introduce a bill to return the state to the primary process as a result of the high turnout.

Other factors favored Sanders in the state: It is largely white and neighbors Vermont, his home state.

The win gave Sanders’ supporters a morale boost heading into Sunday night’s debate in Flint, Mich., but does little to overcome doubts about his path to the nomination.

Sanders is lagging well behind the former secretary of State in delegates, and he has so far failed to gather enough support from African-American voters to build a winning Democratic coalition. 

On the Republican side, Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) won the state’s GOP caucuses on Saturday, followed by real estate developer Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Updated 9:26 p.m.

Tags Bernie Sanders Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Ted Cruz

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