Joe Biden wins Idaho Democrat's vote in presidential caucuses

President Joe Biden handily won Idaho’s Democratic presidential caucus Thursday, sweeping away a field of five other little-known candidates.

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The 81-year-old president seeking a second term has already secured enough delegates to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August and will likely face former President Donald Trump in November. Idaho’s votes in the caucus proportionally determined how the state’s 23 delegates will vote in the convention.

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Biden won more than 95% of the 2,412 votes cast in the presidential caucus, according to a news release from the Idaho Democratic Party, meaning the five other candidates earned a combined total of less than 150 votes. Marianne Williamson, who received the second-most votes, secured 3% of the votes.

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Less than 2% of Idaho’s more than 125,000 Democratic voters participated in the caucus. Unaffiliated voters who did not participate in another party’s caucus were also eligible to participate.

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Less than 7% of Republican voters participated in the GOP caucus in March. The last time Idaho Democrats caucused was in 2016, when nearly 24,000 voters showed up as Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton contended for their votes. Sanders won by a 4-to-1 margin, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. Clinton went on to win the national nomination.

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“President Biden and Vice President Harris promised to rebuild our economy from the bottom up and middle out, and that’s exactly what they have been doing for Idahoans,” Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea said in the news release, noting his “resounding” victory.

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“We know what’s at stake in this election: our personal freedoms, our children’s economic future, our ability to make life better for everyday Americans, and our democracy,” she added. “Idaho Democrats are ready to organize and win in 2024.”