Tensions were high at the Democratic convention in Nevada Saturday, with supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders demanding delegate recounts, booing Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and causing other disruptions, according to local media reports.
Sanders supporters were angry over a voice vote that adopted a set of temporary convention rules as the permanent rules, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
And supporters also reacted angrily to the count of delegates attending the convention, which put Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton at an advantage. Final numbers announced later in the day showed 1,695 Clinton supporters in attendance to Sanders’s 1,662.
{mosads}Boxer, a Clinton supporter, said amid booing from the crowd, “The future of the country is at stake. When you boo me, you’re booing Bernie Sanders. Go ahead. You’re booing Bernie Sanders.”
The vote on rules led to supporters flocking the front of the convention room and shouting “this is fixed” and “no confidence” at party officials.
Sanders supporter Nina Turner also spoke at the event and called on the crowd to remain calm and committed.
The convention ended, hours behind schedule, on a contentious note, with a delegate credentials committee member reading a minority report that said nearly 64 Sanders delegates were excluded from the convention process. A Democratic National Committee (DNC) member said the report would be submitted to the DNC.
Clinton ended up getting seven additional delegates, with Sanders winning five.
Clinton won Nevada’s caucuses in February, picking up 13 delegates to Sanders’s 10. Another 12 bound delegates are slated to be allocated at the state’s convention Saturday.
But the state’s contests have been followed by controversy, with Sanders winning the Clark County convention last month despite losing the caucuses overall.