OLYMPIA — Washington Democrats estimate that attendance at last weekend’s caucuses was slightly more than 230,000.
That turnout falls shy of the party’s record of 250,000 in the 2008 caucuses. Saturday’s neighborhood gatherings elected more than 26,000 delegates to move on to legislative caucuses and county conventions, with a majority of the delegates supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders was awarded more than 19,000 delegates, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received more than 7,000. More than 40 uncommitted delegates were also elected.
The overall delegate number is lower than the original expectation of 27,170. Party spokesman Jamal Raad said Monday that’s because some delegate slots were left unfilled, either because no one wanted to do it or because no one showed up in a particular precinct.
Ultimately, 101 delegates will be awarded proportionally to Clinton and Sanders. In addition, the state has 17 superdelegates, though a majority of them have said they support Clinton.
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