Bernie Sanders won in Kansas and Nebraska, while Hillary Clinton took Louisiana by a landslide, continuing her march through the South.
Both can make arguments that they won the night. Sanders won two of three contests, while Clinton’s huge victory in Louisiana, the night’s biggest prize, means that she should extend her delegate lead. But for the most part, these three contests have done very little to change the shape of the Democratic race.
Sanders has been racking up low-margin victories in states with large white populations, while Clinton continues to win by wide-margins in states with larger black populations. Sanders does not seem to have broadened his coalition, while Clinton, the frontrunner, does not seem to be converting much of Bernie’s base. Both will spin these nights as victories to donors, both will raise money off of their performances, and both will continue to duke it out on the campaign trail.
Heading into tomorrow’s Democratic debate, and the upcoming contests in Michigan and Ohio—two states that could give Sanders considerable momentum—I’d say the Democratic race hasn’t changed much in the last twelve hours. But given the fact that Clinton has a sizable lead over Sanders (and a very sizable one, if you consider super delegates), maintaining the status quo obviously favors her and makes Sanders’s path to the nomination even more complicated and unlikely.