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This special section gathers all of the stories of the KUNC Newsroom & the NPR Elections Unit cover the Colorado Caucuses. The caucuses were held on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012.

Colorado 'Felt The Bern,' But After A Dominant Mega Tuesday What If Clinton Is The Nominee?

Bente Birkeland
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RMCR
A Sanders supporter waves a 'Bernie 2016' sign during the Colorado Caucus, held Mar. 1, 2016.

Hillary Clinton's wins on Mega Tuesday in Ohio, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and a virtual tie in Missouri, have moved her closer to securing the Democratic Party nomination. What will that mean for Colorado, which went heavily for her opponent, Bernie Sanders? We asked Democratic State Party Chair Rick Palacio to find out.

Interview Highlights With Chair Rick Palacio

Would Younger Voters Energized By Sanders Turnout For Clinton?

Credit Bente Birkeland / RMCR
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RMCR
Colorado Democratic Party Chair Rick Palacio

"I think that what we're going to find amongst Colorado Democrats is that whomever our nominee is, it will be a very wide coalition of supporters to support that nominee and make sure that we win in November, whether that's millennials or Hispanics or others that are vital to our Democratic coalition."

How Colorado's Four-Step Caucus System Affects Things

"At all four of those events we have a presidential straw poll. There is a possibility that you have people realign every time you have a straw poll, so in Colorado we have not awarded any delegates yet. The first of those delegates won't be awarded until congressional district conventions."

On The Future Of Bernie Sanders' Campaign

"He's going to have to pull over some major wins by large margins if he's going to pick up enough pledged delegates."

Bente Birkeland has been reporting on state legislative issues for KUNC and Rocky Mountain Community Radio since 2006. Originally, from Minnesota, Bente likes to hike and ski in her spare time. She keeps track of state politics throughout the year but is especially busy during the annual legislative session from January through early May.
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