IMPORTANT GUILTY VERDICT. >>> ALSO, LATER, HOLDING TRUMP
ACCOUNTABLE AMIDST REPORTS HIS
ALLIES ARE BUILDING AN ENEMIES
LIST.
LIST. OUR TOP STORY RIGHT NOW IS THE
NEW AND MEASURABLE REALITY,
THOUGH, IN THIS RACE TO TAKE ON
PRESIDENT TRUMP IN NOVEMBER.
TONIGHT WE CAN REPORT ONE
CANDIDATE NOW LEADS ALL OTHERS
BY A KEYMAR GIN.
ONE CANDIDATE HAS DEMONSTRATED
THE SUPPORT OF KEY VOTING BLOCS
IN ALL THREE STATES THAT HAVE
VOTED THUS FAR, AND ONE
CANDIDATE HAS THE VOTER-FUNDED
RESOURCES TO COMPETE, I SHOULD
SAY, ALL THE WAY TO THE
CONVENTION AND BEYOND.
WELL, YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS IF
YOU’VE BEEN WATCHING THE NEWS.
IT’S SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS, WHO
SCORED THE WIDEST VICTORY MARGIN
OF ANY RACE THUS FAR WITH HIS
BLOWOUT IN THOSE WEEKEND NEVADA
CAUCUSES.
CAUCUSES. FORTIFYING A DELEGATE LEAD THAT
WHILE IT IS EARLY IS
SIGNIFICANT.
SIGNIFICANT. NOW, WE FOLLOW THE FACTS HERE ON
"THE BEAT," AND THESE FACTS ARE
MEASURABLE.
MEASURABLE. IN FACT, TONIGHT WE HAVE THAT
MEASUREMENT HERE FOR YOU, RIGHT
HERE ON THE RIGHT HAND OF YOUR
SCREEN.
SCREEN. IT’S PRETTY SIMPLE, BUT IT’S
ALSO VERY IMPORTANT AND CAN BE
OVERLOOKED.
OVERLOOKED. SO LET’S GO THROUGH IT.
THIS IS THE CURRENT DELEGATE
COUNT.
COUNT. NO MATTER WHO YOU MAY LIKE AND
NO MATTER WHAT D.C. INSIDERS
TOLD YOU FOR MONTHS, THE ONLY
GAS THAT POWERS A CANDIDATE TO
THE NOMINATION IS THESE
DELEGATES.
DELEGATES. AND SANDERS NOW HAS 43 OF THEM.
MORE THAN HIS CLOSEST RIVAL,
PETE BUTTIGIEG AT 26.
SANDERS HAS MORE THAN TRIPLE THE
NUMBER OF DELEGATES OF MOST
OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS RACE,
INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO DON’T EVEN
MAKE THIS BOARD YET.
THIS IS THE REALITY.
IT HAS BEEN USHERED IN WITH
SANDERS’ DECISIVE VICTORY ON
SATURDAY.
SATURDAY. YOU MAY HAVE BEEN WATCH ALONG
WITH US FOR THAT NBC CALL ON
SATURDAY NIGHT.
SATURDAY NIGHT. >> NBC NEWS PROJECTS BERNIE
SANDERS THE WINNER IN NEVADA.
>> TONIGHT HE LAYS LEGITIMATE
CLAIM TO BEING THE FRONT-RUNNER
FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION.
>> SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS IS NOW
THE DEMOCRATIC FRONT-RUNNER.
>> HE PUT THE WORK IN ON THE
GROUND FOR A LONG TIME.
HE IS REWARDED FOR THAT TONIGHT.
>> HE IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE
FRONT-RUNNER NOW.
FRONT-RUNNER NOW. >> CONFIRMING HE IS NOW THE
PARTY’S FRONT-RUNNER FOR THE
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION.
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION. >> THAT MEANS SANDERS HAS NOW
JUMPED BUTTIGIEG IN THE OVERALL
DELEGATE COUNT AND NOW LEADS BY
DOUBLE-DIGITS.
DOUBLE-DIGITS. >> LEADING THIS MEASURABLE
DELEGATE COUNT, THIS IS WHAT
MATTERS FOR WINNING.
AND I WANT TO BE CLEAR, BECAUSE
WE ALWAYS TRY TO TELL YOU HOW WE
COME TO THE REPORTING THAT WE
BRING YOU.
BRING YOU. PEOPLE CAN DEBATE THE POLLS ALL
THEY WANT AND THE RHETORIC ABOUT
WHO IS A FRONT-RUNNER BEFORE ANY
VOTING OCCURRED.
VOTING OCCURRED. BUT SPENDING MONTHS AS
WASHINGTON, D.C.’S FRONT-RUNNER
DOESN’T GET YOU A TICKET TO
ANYWHERE, NOT TO THE CONVENTION,
LET ALONE A STARRING ROLE, LET
ALONE A NOMINATION.
WHEN ONE CANDIDATE GETS A
DELEGATE LEAD THAT CAN’T BE
ERASED BY ANY NEXT SINGLE STATE,
HISTORY SHOWS THAT IS VERY HARD
TO VANQUISH.
TO VANQUISH. NOW TAKE SOUTH CAROLINA WHICH IS
COMING THIS WEEKEND.
THE STATE AWARDS 54 DELEGATES.
BUT WITH THIS DELEGATE MARKS
SANDERS NOW COULD COME IN SECOND
OR EVEN THIRD THERE AND STILL
FINISH NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT
CLOSER TO THE NOMINATION WITH A
LARGER LEAD THAN HE HAS RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. HE COULD TAKE A LARGER DELEGATE
LEAD, THEN OTHER RIVALS WITHOUT
EVEN COMING IN FIRST.
AND THERE ARE ALSO SIGNS THAT
THAT WOULD BE SANDERS’ WORST
CASE SCENARIO.
CASE SCENARIO. THEY ARE NOW BASICALLY WITHIN
THE MARGIN OF ERROR FOR THE LEAD
IN NEW NBC POLL OUT TONIGHT.
AFTER THAT, IT WILL BE THREE
MORE DAYS TO SUPER TUESDAY WHEN
A THIRD OF ALL DELEGATES ARE
AWARDED.
AWARDED. THE NOMINEE NEEDS ABOUT 1900
THERE TO CLINCH, AND 1300 ARE UP
FOR GRABS THIS COMING TUESDAY, A
WEEK FROM TOMORROW.
THE LAST CYCLE I CAN ALSO REMIND
YOU, BOTH CANDIDATES WHO LED THE
DELEGATE COUNT HEADING INTO
SUPER TUESDAY WENT ON TO WIN.
SAME FOR MITT ROMNEY IN 2012.
HE WENT ON TO WIN HIS PARTY’S
NOMINATION WITH THAT DELEGATE
LEAD.
LEAD. IN 2008, BARACK OBAMA FAMOUSLY
BEGAN WITH A NARROW BUT
RESILIENT DELEGATE LEAD.
HE NEVER LET IT GO.
BERNIE SANDERS HAS BEEN LASER
FOCUSED ON THE DELEGATES
AVAILABLE NEXT TUESDAY.
NOT ONLY TOUTING HIS EARLY
VICTORY, WHICH WE’VE HEARD
ABOUT, BUT CAMPAIGNING IN
CALIFORNIA AND TEXAS, EVEN
BEFORE HE BUILT THIS LEAD WHEN
HE TOOK NEVADA.
>> I THINK ALL OF YOU KNOW WE
WON THE POPULAR VOTE IN IOWA.
WE WON THE NEW HAMPSHIRE
PRIMARY.
PRIMARY. WE HAVE NOW WON THE NEVADA
CAUCUS.
CAUCUS. WE ARE GOING TO WIN HERE IN
TEXAS.
TEXAS. WE ARE GOING -- WE ARE GOING TO
WIN ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
>> THAT WAS THE SCENE, AS
MENTIONED, IN A SUPER TUESDAY
STATE AS HE CELEBRATED THE
NEVADA VICTORY.
NEVADA VICTORY. NOW YOU MAY HAVE HEARD
DETRACTORS OF THIS VERMONT
SENATOR INSIDE THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY ARGUE THAT HE HAS NEVER
PUBLICLY PLEDGED HISTORICALLY
FULL LOYALTY TO THIS DEMOCRATIC
PARTY.
PARTY. AND THAT MAY BE TRUE, AND THAT’S
SOMETHING PEOPLE CAN DEBATE.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT’S CLEAR RIGHT
NOW?
NOW? BERNIE SANDERS LEARNED THE RULES
OF THIS DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND HE
IS NOW NAVIGATING THEM MORE
EFFECTIVELY WITH GREATER SUPPORT