Bernie Sanders Wins Oklahoma's Super Tuesday Democratic Primary 2016

Oklahoma City, OK — Bernie Sanders is the winner in the 2016 Oklahoma Democratic Super Tuesday presidential primary.

The Democratic race was tight as the first precinct reports trickled in, with Hillary Clinton just slightly ahead. But Sanders pulled in front and gained ground to take the win and 20 delegates.

Unofficial voting results with all precincts reporting:

Bernie Sanders: 51.9%

Hillary Clinton: 41.5%

• Super Tuesday National Results: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Seek To Dominate

Sanders may have struck a chord with Oklahoma voters during his Feb. 28 rally in Oklahoma City, where thousands listened as he promoted criminal justice reform and equal pay for women, and he criticized Donald Trump’s rhetoric as bigotry.

The rally was held before a crowd of about 6,000 people at the Cox Convention Center, NewsOK reports, and Sanders took the opportunity assert his viability as a contender against Trump, should the businessman win the Republican nomination.

Sanders told reporters before the rally he believed he had a good chance at a Super Tuesday win in Oklahoma, a consistently red state. According to NewsOk, he said,

“...I think we have a message that speaks to working class people, whether you are conservative whether you are progressive, you are not happy with the campaign finance system which is corrupt, which allows billionaires to buy elections.”

Pollsters predicted Sanders would win the state primary and pointed out his success may come from the relatively small number minority voters in Oklahoma. Sanders’ greatest support came from Coal, Ellis, Washita and Woodward counties, according to Politico election results.

A record turnout was predicted for this primary election, with absentee ballots and early voting numbers surpassing 2012.

University of Oklahoma political scientist Keith Gaddie told KGOU polling showed the gap between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders grew tighter as Super Tuesday drew near.

The state had 38 Democratic delegates up for grabs. One of Oklahoma’s four Democratic superdelegates, Connie Johnson, supports Sanders, and another, Betty McElderry, supports Clinton, according to the Associated Press.

2016 Oklahoma Presidential Primary | InsideGov

Oklahoma uses a modified closed primary system, which means registered party members can only vote in their party’s primary and runoff primary elections. Registered Independents can vote in primary party elections if the parties give them permission. The Democratic Party has invited Independent voters in Oklahoma to participate in 2016-17 Democratic primaries, but the Republican party did not.

• Oklahoma 2016 Republican Presidential Primary Results

Check back for updates on the Oklahoma presidential primary race and results.

» Photos by Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons