Big 'unimaginable' margin of victory for Sanders in WA 'may blow race wide open'



SEATTLE -  Political pundits were stunned by the size of Sen. Bernie Sanders victory in the Washington caucuses Saturday.

Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called it 'unimaginable.'

"Such a big margin in a big state may blow race wide open," Gingrich tweeted shortly after the AP called the race in Sander's favor.



With more than 32% of the precincts reporting, Sanders had amassed more than three times the number of votes as Sen. Hillary Clinton had in Washington State.



There are 118 delegates at stake in Washington, with 101 to ultimately be awarded proportionally based on the results of Saturday's caucuses. The remaining 17 are technically unpledged party and elected leaders, though a majority of them — including Gov. Jay Inslee and the state's Congressional delegation — have already said they support frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Sanders was winning by large margins across the state.

Both candidates spent time in Washington this past week, with Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, making several stops and Sanders packing huge rallies in Seattle and elsewhere.

Sanders, a senator from Vermont, had raised $2.6 million in Washington state, while Clinton has raised about $2 million