What Went Down In The 2020 Nevada Caucuses

Does it matter whether Buttigieg or Biden finish in second? On the one hand, if Buttigieg finishes second, can’t his campaign say, “Hey, we’ve finished first/second in Iowa, second in New Hampshire, second in Nevada — we’re the Sanders alternative.” On the other hand, both Biden and Buttigieg are likely to be pretty far behind Sanders in Nevada, so … maybe no one cares?

Regarding the labor union vote, the preliminary entrance poll data found that 25 percent of caucusgoers came from households with a labor union member. Thing is, candidate preference wasn’t all that different between those who lived in those households and the 75 percent who came from non-union households. Sanders won 34 percent among both, for example, while Biden won 19 percent among union households and 15 percent among non-union households.

I do wonder if the Culinary Union had gone hard for Biden whether that would have made a difference. He probably wouldn’t have won — but his campaign could have used a strong second place finish.