DETROIT, Mich. — Sen. Bernie Sanders struck a surprising blow to front-runner Hillary Clinton by winning Michigan’s Democratic primary.
With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders won 50.1 percent of the votes and 65 delegates, so far. Clinton won 48 percent of the votes and 58 delegates. Seven of the 130 delegates at stake in Michigan’s Democratic race remain to be won.
This is Sanders’ fourth win in the Midwest after victories in Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska. (RELATED: Donald Trump Wins Michigan Primary)
Sanders’ protectionist message on jobs seems to have resonated in the Rust Belt state hit hardest by the 2008 recession, which is surprising since the Vermont senator opposed the auto bailout, a popular topic amongst Michigan voters.
Clinton has been credited with putting the national spotlight on the Flint water crisis, but Sanders called for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s resignation long before the former secretary of state did.
“I believe the governor of this state should understand that his dereliction of duty was irresponsible — he should resign,” the Vermont senator said Sunday during CNN’s debate. (RELATED: Clinton, Sanders Call For Michigan Governor’s Resignation [VIDEO])
Former Democratic Sen. Don Riegle is Sanders’ only notable endorsement in Michigan. Clinton received the endorsements of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Democratic Sens. [crscore]Debbie Stabenow[/crscore] and [crscore]Gary Peters[/crscore], and Democratic Reps. John Conyers, Debbie Dingell, Dan Kildee, Brenda Lawrence, and former congressman John Dingell.
In the 2008 Michigan Democratic primary Clinton won over 55 percent of the vote, according to The New York Times, winning all but two of state’s 83 counties.
FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver says Sanders’ win in the Great Lakes State is “among the greatest polling errors in primary history.”
“Clinton led by 21.3 percentage points in our final Michigan polling average,” Silver noted Tuesday night, hours prior to Michigan’s race being called for Sanders. “Previously, the candidate with the largest lead to lose a state in our database of well-polled primaries and caucuses was Walter Mondale, who led in New Hampshire by 17.1 percentage points but lost to Gary Hart in 1984.”
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