Joe Biden climbs off the mat in Las Vegas

Socialist Bernie Sanders is speeding towards the Democrat presidential nomination after a sweeping victory in Nevada.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking here during a campaign rally in El Paso, Texas on Saturday, has won the Nevada caucus.

Socialist Bernie Sanders is speeding towards the Democrat presidential nomination after a sweep­ing victory in Nevada that has sent chills through moderates in the party who fear he would gift the election to Donald Trump.

The 78-year-old won the Nevada caucuses in a landslide with 46.8 per cent of delegates from former vice-president Joe Biden on 23.2 per cent and former mayor Pete Buttigieg on 13.5 per cent. But the result also breathed life back into the campaign of Mr Biden whose strong performance came on the back of solid support from African-American voters.

A jubilant Senator Sanders said he was leading a “grassroots movement” that was “going to sweep this country”.

“We are going to win across the country because the American people are sick and tired of a president who lies all the time. They are sick and tired of a corrupt administration,” he said. “They are sick and tired of a president who is undermining American democracy, who thinks he is above the law and who apparently has never read the constitution.”
The Nevada outcome was a blow to the hopes of Senator Amy Klobuchar who came a distant fifth with 3.3 per cent of the vote despite her strong third place in New Hampshire this month.

The Minnesota senator tried to put a positive spin on it, saying; “As usual, I think we have exceeded ­expectations. I always note that a lot of people didn’t even think that I would still be standing at this point.”

The result was also a disappointment for Elizabeth Warren, who came fourth with 9.1 per cent of the vote despite her strong performance in last week’s Democrat debate.

Senator Sanders’s easy victory in Nevada means he is now the clear frontrunner in the eight-­person Democrat race following his win in New Hampshire and his close second place in Iowa. This will spark panic among moderate Democrats who fear Senator Sanders, with his big-spending hard-left agenda, would be easier for Donald Trump to defeat than a more centrist candidate. But so far the vote of the party’s moderate wing has been split between competing moderates in Mr Biden, Mr Buttigieg, Senator Klobuchar, and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

Entrance polls suggest that Senator Sanders won strong support from Hispanic voters with more that half of them citing him as their first preference, almost four times as many as those who supported Mr Biden. Nevada is the third state to hold nomination contests, but it is the first state with a sizeable minority population, giving the first glimpse of how Hispanic and African-American voters see the candidates.

Democratic presidential candidate former vice president Joe Biden came in second.

Mr Biden needed to come second or third in Nevada to keep his campaign alive after poor performances in Iowa and New Hampshire. A relieved Mr Biden told supporters his campaign was back on track. “Y’all did it for me,” he said. “Now it’s time to go on to South Carolina to win and take this back,” he said. “We are alive, and we are coming back, and we are going to win. I ain’t a socialist. I’m not a plutocrat. I’m a Democrat, and proud of it.”

Mr Biden is leading the polls in next Sunday’s South Carolina primary because of his strong support among African-Americans who make up about 60 per cent of Democrat voters in that state.

The Biden campaign believes if he can win South Carolina and perform well on Super Tuesday he may re-emerge as the moderate most likely to challenge Senator Sanders for the nomination.

Mr Trump goaded Democrats, tweeting: “Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden and the rest look weak and no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential debates.”

Mr Buttigieg won the Iowa caucus and came second in New Hampshire but his third place in Nevada reflected his relative lack of support among Hispanic and black voters. Even so, he described the result as “a great day for our campaign” and he attacked Senator Sanders. “To those who questioned whether a Midwest mayor could gather a national movement around a new kind of politics you are the answer,” he said.

“But let us take a sober look at what is at stake. We absolutely must defeat Donald Trump and everything he represents.

“Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans.’’

Sanders’ supporters in El Paso, Texas.

The South Carolina primary looms as a test for Mr Buttigieg and also Senator Klobuchar, who has also struggled to attract the support of Hispanic and black voters.

Mr Bloomberg will not enter the contest until March 3 for Super Tuesday when 14 states vote and a third of all delegates are awarded for the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July. Despite being widely criticised for his performance in his first debate last week, the former New York mayor is third in ­national polls behind Senator Sanders and Mr Biden.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar at a Nevada caucuses kick-off event on Saturday.

Polls show Senator Sanders is coming second to Mr Biden in South Carolina but he leads in the large, delegate-rich Super Tuesday states of California and Texas. If Senator Sanders performs strongly in South Carolina and on Super Tuesday, he could become the unbackable favourite to win the Democratic nomination to challenge Mr Trump in November.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia