Michigan’s Dem primary too close to call

Michigan’s Democratic primary is too close to call. Bernie Sanders leads with 50 percent of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton’s 48 percent with 91 percent of the vote in, according to NBC News. 

If those results hold, it will be a major coup for Sanders, who was not expected to win the state. The former first lady never trailed Sanders in polling in Michigan and the Vermont senator has not performed well so far in states with significant black populations. 

{mosads}NBC’s exit polls show 23 percent of the Democratic electorate was black, though results were slow to come in from Wayne County, which has a large population of black voters. 

In a hastily arranged news conference as votes were still being counted in Michigan, Sanders staked his claim to momentum and said he will end up winning the nomination.

“We started this campaign 10 months ago, we were 60 or 70 points down in the polls,” Sanders said. “But we’ve seen in poll after poll and state after state, we’ve created the kind of momentum that we need to win.”

The Vermont senator said that even being in a tight race in Michigan was a win.

“It’s not clear yet who will win this election, but I just want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Michigan who repudiated the polls that had us 20-25 points down a few days ago, who repudiated the pundits who said that Bernie Sanders was not going anywhere.”

Sanders made a play for delegate-rich Michigan in the days leading up to Tuesday’s primary, seeking to draw contrasts with Clinton over trade policies. 

 She responded by targeting the Vermont senator for opposing the 2008 bill that included a bailout for the auto industry. While Sanders did ultimately vote against that bill, he had signaled support for an auto bailout that didn’t include the big banks. 

Michigan will award 130 pledged delegates proportionally to the winner. So while a tight margin of victory for Sanders may not make a significant dent in Clinton’s overall delegate lead, it would serve as an important moral victory. 

Updated 11:21 p.m.