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A little birdie interrupted Bernie Sanders during his rally in Portland, Oregon, got a standing ovation from the crowd and was given the name of "Birdie Sanders" on social media. USA TODAY
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., March 26, 2016. Voters in Wisconsin go to the polls April 5 for the state's primary.(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)
Vermont Sen.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bernie Sanders swept to victory in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Democratic caucuses in Alaska and Washington state<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Saturday, as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he sought<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to cut<span style="color: Red;">*</span>into Hillary Clinton's commanding<span style="color: Red;">*</span>delegate lead and gain fresh momentum in his bid for their party's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>presidential nomination.
Sanders also sought to capture<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hawaii's caucuses Saturday.
Washington state, with 101 delegates up for grabs, was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Saturday’s biggest prize. Sanders fought hard for the state, holding big rallies in the last week<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to drive turnout among the kinds of young and liberal voters<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who have helped him prevail in earlier caucuses.
Sixteen delegates were at stake in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Alaska and 25 in Hawaii.
"We are making significant inroads in Secretary Clinton's lead, and we have a path toward victory," Sanders told a cheering<span style="color: Red;">*</span>crowd in Madison, Wis., on Saturday, following his Alaska win.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"It is hard for anyone to deny that our campaign has the momentum."
Sanders'<span style="color: Red;">*</span>drive to win Saturday's trio of Western states comes as the race heads back to the Midwest and Northeast next month, territory that could<span style="color: Red;">*</span>prove favorable to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Clinton, who has outperformed Sanders in more racially diverse<span style="color: Red;">*</span>states.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Next up: Wisconsin, which votes April 5. Clinton's home state of New York, where a whopping 291 delegates are up for grabs, will vote April 19.
It was no coincidence that Sanders celebrated his Western victories<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a Wisconsin college town Saturday night.
Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AP)
Sanders, who outraised Clinton in January and February, is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>expected to parlay his weekend wins into a fresh round<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of online donations.
Despite his victories<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Saturday, the delegate math still favors Clinton.
USA TODAY
Crowd goes wild after small bird lands on Bernie Sanders' podium
She headed into Saturday's contests with a big<span style="color: Red;">*</span>lead among pledged delegates.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>When party officials, known as superdelegates, are added in, Clinton’s advantage grows even larger.
The states making their choices<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Saturday were friendly ground for Sanders, who relied on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>caucus victories<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in seven<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of the 11 states he had won heading into this weekend. In addition, some of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>strongest performances in the nomination battle have come from states in which white voters make up a large share of the electorate, indicating an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>edge<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Alaska and Washington.
In more diverse Hawaii, Clinton has the support to several top officials, including Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono. Sanders, however, has the backing of a popular figure in the state, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a rising Democratic star who resigned her post as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee last month to openly campaign for Sanders in the Aloha State. Gabbard, a combat veteran, cut an emotional commercial<span style="color: Red;">*</span>for Sanders, highlighting the toll of overseas combat<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and Sanders' opposition to the Iraq war.
Washington had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>been the most<span style="color: Red;">*</span>hotly contested of the three states staging contests Saturday.
Clinton dispatched her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea, there on her behalf. Sanders himself<span style="color: Red;">*</span>crisscrossed the state.
Even with Sanders' big wins Saturday, Clinton also added delegates to her column because the party awards them proportionally.
Clinton and her allies already are looking past the nomination fight to the general election and a potential match-up against GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who is engaged an increasingly ugly fight with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for their party’s nomination. On Friday, the two bickered over Cruz’s accusation that Trump planted a tabloid story about Cruz allegedly having extramarital affairs, a charge Trump denied. Cruz called<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the National Enquirer story “garbage” and “completely false.”
USA TODAY
Ted Cruz blames Donald Trump for 'Enquirer' affairs story
A pro-Clinton super PAC recently announced it was reserving $70 million in television advertising to start after the national convention in Philadelphia.
Sanders’ fundraising prowess, however, could give him staying power deep into the primary election<span style="color: Red;">*</span>calendar. He has collected nearly $140 million over the course of the election cycle.
Clinton's camp, anticipating a strong Sanders’ performance Saturday, issued a fundraising appeal before his wins had been announced. “We’re still being outspent on the air in key states, we haven’t caught up in online fundraising,” campaign manager Robby Mook told supporters in the email.
One clear sign that Sanders<span style="color: Red;">*</span>intends to stick around: On Saturday, he<span style="color: Red;">*</span>opened a campaign office in Brooklyn —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the same New York borough as Clinton’s national headquarters — in preparation<span style="color: Red;">*</span>for the state's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>primary.
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