Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders came out victorious during Tuesday night’s West Virginia primary over Hillary Clinton, cutting into her delegate lead.
However, the win won't make a huge dent.
While Sanders' win certainly help him, it is unlikely that a win in the Mountain State will get him any closer to the nomination. Only 29 delegates were at stake on Tuesday, meaning that even a dominating win for Sanders would still leave him nearly 800 delegates behind Clinton (when accounting for all-important Super Delegates).
"Let me be as clear as I can be, we are in the campaign to win the Democratic nomination," Sanders to a crowd in Salem, Oregon, on Tuesday. "We are going to fight for every last vote."
Thank you to the people of West Virginia for the tremendous victory they gave us today. pic.twitter.com/PyK1lx9NF3
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 11, 2016
But Clinton needs just 145 delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination in order to reach the 2,383 required. Even if she lost all the ret of the states by a landslide, she could still emerge as the nominee -- assuming her superdelegates, the key for her in this race, continue to back her.
The former Secretary of State also won a primary election Tuesday in Nebraska, though it won't increase her lead as the party allocated all of its delegates to the summer nominating convention at a caucus won in March by Sanders.
The win means Sanders has taken an impressive 19 states to Clinton's 23 -- and awkward scenario considering Clinton is so far ahead.
Meanwhile, according to Real Clear Politics, Sanders leads Clinton by an average of six points across three separate polls. The Vermont senator has found favor with disenfranchised rural Democrats, while Clinton has earned the ire coal miners with her green energy policies.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.