Sanders appeals for unity after Nevada win

Bernie Sanders scored a resounding victory in Nevada’s presidential caucuses on Saturday, cementing his status as the Democrats' national front-runner amid escalating tensions over whether he’s too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump.

While Sanders scored a strong victory, a cluster of candidates fought for a distant second place — and any momentum that may come with it heading into next-up South Carolina and then Super Tuesday on March 3. Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren were trailing far behind Sanders.

The 78-year-old Vermont senator won by rallying his fiercely loyal base and tapping into support from Nevada’s large Latino community as the Democratic contest moved for the first time into a state with a significant minority population.

In a show of confidence, Sanders left Nevada for Texas, which offers one of the biggest delegate troves in just 10 days on Super Tuesday.

"Brothers and sisters, if we stand together, we will not only defeat Trump, we will transform this country and create a government and an economy that works for all of us, not wealthy campaign contributors," he declared.

Saturday's win built on Sanders’ win earlier this month in the New Hampshire primary. He essentially tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses with Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has sought to position himself as an ideological counter to Sanders’ unabashedly progressive politics.

The victory, while encouraging for Sanders supporters, only deepened concern among establishment-minded Democratic leaders who fear that the self-described democratic socialist is too extreme to defeat Trump.

Sanders for decades has been calling for transformative policies to address inequities in politics and the economy, none bigger than his signature “Medicare for All” health care plan that would replace the private insurance system with a government-run universal system.