It is no secret that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on track to become the Democratic Party's nominee in July. If Sanders wants to take the battle to be the Democrats' nominee to the wire, he will have to do well in three caucuses scheduled for Saturday.
In pledged delegates, Clinton leads Sanders 1,223 to 920, according to Associated Press figures. When super delegates are included, Clinton runs away with the delegate count by a 1,691 to 949 margin. The magic number to clinch the nomination is 2,383 delegates.
A total of 172 delegates will be up for grabs Saturday.
1) Sanders does well in caucuses
Democrats in Hawaii, Alaska and Washington will vote in a caucus style contest. These type of contests have generally benefited Sanders as he has won seven of nine caucuses, and of Clinton's two caucus wins, only one was in a convincing manner. Meanwhile, Clinton has won 16 out of 20 primaries.
For whatever reason, Sanders has been able to turn out support at caucuses instead of primaries.
2) To gain momentum
While it can be argued the effect of momentum during the nominating process, you would rather be the candidate with momentum than the one without. Sanders was able to erase a miserable showing on March 15 when he lost five big states by winning two out of three states on Tuesday. Sanders won the states of Utah and Idaho by a nearly 60-point margin.
3) To take advantage of favorable demographics
In Alaska and Washington, the Democratic base is predominantly white, which has benefited Sanders. Exit polls have showed that Clinton has gained much of her traction with minorities. Washington is by far Saturday's biggest prize, and possibly a state Sanders will do well in.
