Sanders campaign representatives believe this victory is a natural result of their strategy for steady step-by-step progress using stable fundraising. According to a Sanders campaign-fundraising email, "Late last week, Bernie drew an enormous crowd of 14,000 in Utah. Huge audiences have showed up to watch him speak at multiple events in Arizona, and he's spent considerable time in Idaho as well. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has taken a number of days off the campaign trail to raise money."
According to local news reports, an estimated 15,000 Sanders supporters showed up at an event in Seattle on Sunday.
Last week, the Clinton campaign issued a statement saying they expected Sanders to win several upcoming contests, adding that a few Clinton losses wouldn't substantially affect their lead.
Clinton's campaign manager Robbie Mook commented: "Our pledged delegate lead is so significant that even a string of victories by Sen. Sanders over the next few weeks would have little impact on Sec. Clinton's position in the race." So far, Clinton has 1,163 delegates and Sanders has 844. 2,383 delegates are needed to win the nomination.
Both campaigns are looking to Tuesday contests in the western states of Utah, Idaho and Arizona, where 131 delegates are up for grabs.
