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Bernie Sanders takes Maine

Posted at 8:11 PM, Mar 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-07 02:19:55-05

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday swept to victory in the Democratic presidential caucuses in Maine, beating rival Hillary Clinton for his eighth win in the quest for the party's nomination.

Sanders beat Clinton by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 in voting across across Maine, in hundreds of participating communities. 

Democrats had hoped for higher participation, and Sanders told supporters he'd win Maine with a stronger turnout. Results from Democratic Caucus in Maine | InsideGov

CBS News reports that crowds were so large at some locations that participants were given the option of voting via absentee ballot
 
The result in Sunday's election were non-binding.

Prior to the election in Maine, Clinton had at least 1,123, while Sanders had 484, including superdelegates — members of Congress, governors and party officials who can support the candidate of their choice.

2,383 delegates are needed to win the Democratic nomination.

Maine will send 25 delegates and five superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won in Maine's Republican caucuses on Saturday, defeating Donald Trump by 13 percentage points.