LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on developments in the Nevada Democratic party caucuses (all times local):
3 p.m.
Spanish was spoken as Democrats at a Las Vegas precinct sided with Hillary Clinton, but not without some confusion and a long-shot bilingual candidate’s attempts to woo undecided voters.
Third-party candidate Rocky De La Fuente personally argued in English and Spanish to 73 voters in one Rancho High School precinct that they needed to make history by electing a Latino like him.
But his efforts were futile. He didn’t attract enough voters to meet the 15 percent candidate viability threshold.
The mood got tense as Bernie Sanders supporters challenged the delegate math.
In the end, Clinton topped Sanders by a better than 2-1 margin.
Her backers shouted “hermosa” and “preciosa” - Spanish for beautiful.
Clinton backer Mike Bonilla, a 33-year-old student, said the process was disorganized and took too long.
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2:45 p.m.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ support among young voters and college students was evident at one caucus site on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.
An unofficial headcount in one precinct tallied 80 people supporting Sanders and 20 backing Clinton - a 4-to-1 margin.
But statewide, Hillary Clinton won overall.
Chris Sexton, a 22-year-old music major from Reno, says Clinton continues to repeat old messages while Sanders “wants to start a revolution and change politics forever.”
The precinct has a mix of students, working class and upper-middle income voters.
In another precinct made up entirely of student housing, only about 25 of the approximately 200 caucus-goers were siding with Clinton.
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2:30 p.m.
Three hours after doors opened Saturday, a majority at one Democratic caucus site on the Las Vegas Strip fell in line with Nevada’s overall results.
The site, packed with casino workers from the labor unions, chose Hillary Clinton as their Democratic nominee for president.
A total of 299 Democrats were counted at the New York-New York hotel-casino site, with few undecided going in.
Both sides gained some supporters from among the undecided, and the results just before 2 p.m. announced that 196 of them picked Clinton.
Bernie Sanders got about half that number.
Six people left before the counting was done.
The at-large site was open to Las Vegas Strip employees who had been scheduled to work on Saturday.
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2:20 p.m.
Hillary Clinton has won the Nevada Democratic caucuses, rebounding after a second-place finish to Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire.
The victory for the former secretary of state over the Vermont senator gives her two wins to one in the race for the Democratic nomination.
Clinton eked out a win in the Iowa caucuses before Sanders posted an overwhelming victory in New Hampshire’s primary.
Surveys of caucus-goers taken as they entered caucus sites showed that older women turned out in force to support Clinton, pushing her to victory despite her continued struggles to attract young women.
The competition heads next to South Carolina, which holds its Democratic primary next Saturday.
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2 p.m.
Caucus officials at a site on the University Nevada campus in Reno moved some voters to another building to accommodate the large turnout.
More than 100 of the several hundred people caucusing Saturday walked about a block to a different lecture hall with a bigger room to begin choosing their candidates about 1:30 p.m.
That was 90 minutes later than scheduled.
More than 100 people were still in line when the line was cut off behind them at noon, and it took another 45 minutes to get everyone inside.
Based on buttons and T-shirts, the majority appeared to back Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton.
The caucus site is one of the most diverse in northern Nevada. It includes one precinct made up entirely of student housing, and others with both working-class and upper-middle income neighborhoods.
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1:45 p.m.
A Nevada Democratic party official says caucusing didn’t begin at some sites until after 1:30 p.m. Saturday, to allow people in line to get in.
Party spokesman Stewart Boss says lines were long and it took time to sign-in people who got in line by the noon deadline.
Boss says he doesn’t want to say the turnout was a surprise. He says it shows there’s a lot of enthusiasm.
He also says the process may look messy but that he thinks it’s going to end up being a successful party caucus.
Turnout numbers will be known once head-counts are tallied from the approximately 250 sites around the state.
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1:30 p.m.
A Democratic official says caucus crowds, long lines and delays in Nevada show the enthusiasm surrounding the party choice between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Deputy Democratic party communications chief Eric Walker in Washington says people who were in line by noon you should be able to caucus.
Delays were reported Saturday at some precincts in Las Vegas and Reno, where lines lasted past the scheduled noon start time.
Walker noted that casino MGM Resorts International officials told hundreds of Las Vegas Strip casino workers not to worry about rushing back to work because of the delays.
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1:05 p.m.
A flood of Nevada Democratic caucus-goers delayed voting Saturday at some precincts.
Many caucus sites still were trying to register long lines of would-be voters long past the scheduled noon starting time.
First, Democratic party officials said the caucus would begin while people waited in line. A few minutes later officials reversed themselves, rushed everyone inside the room and said they would register voters during the actual caucus.
Hundreds of Las Vegas Strip casino workers trying to get into a room at Caesars Palace hotel-casino snarled the process. It was taking so long to register them that they were in danger of exceeding their paid break times and being forced to return to their jobs.
At New York New York hotel-casino, MGM Resorts International officials told their employees not to worry about rushing back to work because of the delays. Cheers followed.
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12:25 p.m.
Doors are closing on big crowds at sites throughout Nevada where voters have gathered for first-in-the-West Democratic presidential caucuses.
Organizers at Coronado High School in Henderson, near Las Vegas, are telling people in line that everyone who arrived by noon will get in, and caucusing will begin at 1 p.m.
That’s an hour later than scheduled.
Washoe County Democratic Party Executive Director Pam duPre said officials planned to mark the end of the line at a caucus site on the campus of the University of Nevada in Reno at noon.
The mood at some sites was festive, with people shouting allegiances as they waited.
Casino housekeeper Alma Lopez joined chants of “Hillary” outside a site at the Caesars Palace resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
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11:55 a.m.
More than 200 people lined up under sunny skies to get into a Democratic caucus site on the campus of the University of Nevada in Reno.
Washoe County Democratic Party Executive Director Pam duPre says a robust turnout is expected, based on the more than 31,000 Democrats who pre-registered for the caucus.
DuPre said the site is a good cross-section of Reno, ranging from student housing to working-class neighborhoods and middleclass residents on the edges.
Dozens of students lined up at a table to register to vote for the first time.
Marley Anderson, a junior from Las Vegas majoring in criminal justice, says she turned out for her first caucus to support Bernie Sanders because of his views on social issues.
Anderson says Hillary Clinton is “too wishy washy.”
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11:40 a.m.
Nevada Democratic caucus-goers are finding long lines at sites in the Las Vegas and Reno areas as they arrive to make their choices between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Many sites are schools. Some are casinos. Doors were set to open at 11 a.m. Saturday, and attendees were told they could get in as long as they are in line by noon.
Clinton and Sanders crisscrossed the state in recent days seeking last-minute support.
Sanders held rallies and Clinton dropped in at casino employee cafeterias.
Nevada is the third state to weigh in on the Democratic presidential contest. Clinton narrowly won in Iowa and Sanders won in New Hampshire.
Winning Nevada would show that a candidate can gain support in a more diverse electorate.
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8:50 a.m.
Nevada Democrats will head to caucuses to weigh in on a neck-and-neck race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Caucus sites are opening at 11 a.m. Saturday, and attendees can get in as long as they’re in line by noon. Participants can register to vote on-site.
Clinton and Sanders have been crisscrossing the state for a week urging voters to support them at caucuses. Sanders held rallies throughout the state and Clinton dropped in at casino employee cafeterias.
Both joined a union picket on Thursday and have blanketed the airwaves with commercials.
Nevada is the third state to weigh in on the Democratic presidential contest. Clinton narrowly won in Iowa and Sanders won in New Hampshire.
Winning Nevada would show that a candidate can win support in a more-diverse electorate.
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This story has been corrected to show MGM Resorts International officials spoke to employees at New York-New York hotel-casino, not Caesars Palace.
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