Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, at the at the Holiday Inn on Feb. 1, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa, while Hillary Clinton, right, speaks on the evening of the Iowa Democratic caucus, Feb. 1, 2016. (Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images/AP)
The early Nevada Democratic caucus entrance polls are showing an extremely tight race that–at this moment–looks like it will be too close to call.
According to the entrance polls, 26% said they want someone who cares about people like them, which has typically worked in favor of Sen. Bernie Sanders, while 25% said they want someone who is honest and trustworthy, a bad data set for Hillary Clinton. An equal percentage (25%) said they want someone who has the right experience and 20% said electability is the most important quality.
Nevada Democratic caucus-goers said that the two most important issue facing the country are the economy (34%) and income inequality (29%), a clear split favorable for both candidates, followed by health care at 21%.
Meanwhile, only 9% of Nevada Democratic caucus-goers said terrorism is the most important issue facing the nation today. A whole 30% said they went into the caucus persuadable, with only 70% saying they were firm on their candidate.
However, while the race overall is too-close-to-call, there is a troublesome sign for Sanders and his supporters. Half of Democratic caucus-goers would like to see the next president continue with the same policies as President Obama, while a smaller 4 in 10 want more liberal policies. Only 9% say that they want a president with less liberal policies.
“Entrance polls are not solid or completely predictive, but if they were dead on, it is more likely than not that Mrs. Clinton ekes out a small victory,” said PPD’s senior political analyst Rich Baris. “But, again, they aren’t the end-all be-all and something very different could turn out to be the case.”
Union households backed Mrs. Clinton 56% to 43%, according to entrance polls, while women backed the former secretary of state 56% to 41%. First-time caucus-goers went for Sanders 54% to 43%, and he is winning under 45 years-old by a huge 76% to 20% margin.
