Democrats in Nevada were deeply divided between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton going into caucuses Saturday, but Clinton narrowly prevailed.
TRENTON -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly won a hotly contested fight with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in Nevada's Democratic presidential caucuses late Saturday afternoon.
With two-thirds the state's precincts reporting, the Associated Press declared Clinton the winner.
Shortly after the election was called, Clinton thanked her Nevada supporters with a tweet.
The feeling is mutual, Nevada. pic.twitter.com/Z32JkpNKAp
-- Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 20, 2016
Speaking to supporters in Las Vegas shortly after 6:15 pm ET, Clinton acknowledged the bubbling fury of a U.S. electorate which has embraced political outsiders like her independent rival Sanders and Republican front runner Donald Trump.
"Americans are right to be angry," she said. "But we're also hungry for real solutions."
Then, in a swipe at Sanders, who has proposed free universal healthcare and free public university education by requiring Wall Street banks to pay a tax on speculation, Clinton added that "we aren't a single issue country ... we need more than a plan for the big banks."
The Democratic race had become a squeaker just a month ahead of the Nevada caucuses, with Clinton leading Sanders by just a single point in a CNN/ORC poll released last week.
Still, social network meta-data provided by Facebook showed that from midnight until 12 p.m. EST Saturday, people in Nevada were talking far more about Sanders (69 percent) than Clinton (31 percent) by a margin of more than two to one. The Vermont senator had outspent Clinton by two to one in Nevada.
State Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), a former New Jersey Democratic Party chair who endorsed Clinton in early January, told NJ Advance Media on Saturday afternoon that he was confident that Sanders would do very well in Nevada, even if he didn't eek out a win.
"Entrance polls show that the issue that matters most to people (in Nevada) is the economy, and a candidate's 'trustworthines" Wisniewski said. "He's talked about the economic situation our nation is in, the issues of economic disparity...it looks like many people will be favorably inclined to support Sen. Sanders."
When is the Super Tuesday primary?
Sanders had handily won the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9 with more than 60 percent of the vote to her 38 percent.
Clinton had carried the Iowa Caucuses on Feb. 1 by just a cat's breath -- just .3 percent, and early on, the Nevada contest seemed to be a repeat of the Iowa Caucuses, with only 21 percent of precincts reporting statewide, Clinton was ahead by only eight-tenths of a point, according to the AP.
A CBS News entry poll showed that Nevada race seemed to break down along gender lines: Clinton lead Sanders among women 55 percent to 42 percent while Sanders took 55 percent of male voters to compared to 41 percent who said they were backing Clinton.
Sanders also appeared to make gains with independent voters and young people.
A Fox News entrance poll showed that a whopping 75 percent of independents back Sanders, while just 20 percent preferred Clinton. According to the Nevada Secretary of State, one in four voters are registered as either "non-partisan" or "independent."
Similarly, Fox entry polling found that a whopping 85 percent of young voters went for Sanders over Clinton.
After the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders had a small lead among delegates. But when super delegates -- which include all Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate as well as sitting Democratic governors -- Clinton leads 483-55, including two new super delegate endorsements she picked up late Friday, according to the AP.
The final delegate tallies for the two Democrats won't be available until all Nevada precincts report in tonight.
Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.