Here come the Nevada caucuses...
AP Photo/John Locher
Nevada Democrats are heading for the caucuses on Saturday afternoon to weigh in on the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.
Though polling Nevada caucus-goers is notoriously difficult and somewhat unreliable, recent surveys have shown former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders in a dead heat in the state.
Clinton may have the slight institutional advantage. Her campaign has had paid staffers on the ground since last spring, and recently unleashed several notable campaign surrogates to bash Sanders over his mixed record on immigration, a key issue in the state.
But Sanders' recent surge in popularity and fundraising has helped the senator flood the airwaves with paid ads, while he has deployed dozens of paid staffers from Iowa and New Hampshire to make up ground.
Read our live-blog below for the latest updates.
4:11 p.m. EST — With 14% of precincts reporting, the Vermont senator captured a one point lead over Clinton.
4:09 p.m. EST — Clinton's campaign celebrated wins at six at-large casino precincts.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/701150982688874497
BREAKING: @HillaryClinton wins all 6 casino at-large sites. pic.twitter.com/thMgTpT6Vj
4:03 p.m. EST — A little over two hours after the caucuses began, official results showed the candidates tied with 12% of precincts reporting.
3:48 p.m. EST — While NBC's early entrance polls showed Clinton leading among minority voters, several other early entrance polls showed Sanders leading among minority voters.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/701146129065492481
Current (*not final*) entrance numbers for Nevada show Sanders up 54-43 with Latinos and 52-44 with whites. No data for blacks yet.
3:34 p.m. EST — CNN noted Sanders had a slight lead over Clinton, with 49% of voters polled early outside polls supporting Sanders and 47% supporting Clinton.
Polling guru Nat Silver cautioned against reading too far into entrance polls, which he pointed out were not correct in Iowa earlier this month.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/701143570426818564
Entrance polls flipped from showing a 3-point Clinton lead to a 2-point Sanders lead as more data was released. https://t.co/JzZkSOqUOJ
3:06 p.m. EST — CBS reported Clinton had a slight edge in early entrance polls. NBC's early entrance polls showed similar results, with Clinton maintaining a lead among female voters and voters over 45 years-old.
2:16 p.m. EST — The caucuses opened at 11:00 a.m. local time. Reporters tweeted images of lines at caucus locations around the state.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/701121106606862336
#NevadaCaucus line in North Las Vegas at Cheyenne High School pic.twitter.com/nJuljzYnqu
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