Continuing a string of victories across the West, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont won the Wyoming caucuses Saturday, a symbolic triumph if not a race-altering one in the last Democratic contest before the April 19 New York primary.
Sanders beat Hillary Clinton statewide by about 11 percentage points, though the end result was effectively a tie, as each candidate took seven of Wyoming's 14 pledged delegates, the fewest any state had to offer. Clinton's nationwide lead remained at 219.
But after Sanders' recent big victories in Washington state, Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Hawaii and Wisconsin, it was more evidence of Clinton's weaknesses among white and liberal voters as the race moves to major primaries in New York and elsewhere in the Northeast.
"We just won Wyoming," Sanders said, pausing unexpectedly while speaking at a rally at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in New York.
His supporters leapt to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. He thanked Wyoming voters, but said with a smile, "There are probably more people in this room than there are in Wyoming."
It was the only contest of the day for the Democrats. In Colorado, Republicans were finishing the final round of voting at their state convention in Colorado Springs. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas clinched a majority of the state's 37 national delegates by Friday night.
Cruz, the only candidate to speak at the convention, received a rousing reception Saturday as he tried to gain as many of the remaining delegates as he could.
"It's easy to talk about making America great again," he said, taking a dig at his rival, Donald Trump, who had won no delegates in Colorado up to that point. "But the real question is, do you understand the principles and values that made America great in the first place?"
Like Sanders, Cruz still trails the front-runner in his race, Trump. And the campaign now moves to territory likely to be far more favorable to Trump.
Though Sanders was favored in the Wyoming Democratic race, Clinton had endorsements from more elected officials, and the state's four superdelegates are supporting her.