The 2016 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Oklahoma as one of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

's primaries ahead of the

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. On the same day, dubbed "

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...

," Democratic primaries were held in ten other states plus

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, while the Republican Party held primaries in eleven states including their own Oklahoma primary.

Opinion polling

Results

Primary date: March 1, 2016
National delegates: 91

Results by county

Analysis

As he had managed in other primarily white Great Plains states including neighboring

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, Bernie Sanders won a convincing ten-point victory in Oklahoma. This marked a clear difference from

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when Hillary Clinton had won the state by 21 points against

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

, winning 76 of the state's 77 counties. According to exit polls, Sanders won

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60-33, younger voters 76-23,

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voters 56-36, and

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voters 69-21. Clinton, for her part, won

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48-46,

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voters 50-41,

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voters 56-40, and Democrats 52-43. A majority of voters in the primary said they thought Clinton was not honest or trustworthy, 51-47. Sanders swept 75 of Oklahoma's 77 counties. He performed strongly in the major cities of

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, Stillwater, Enid, and Moore. He narrowly edged out Clinton in

Tulsa County Tulsa County is located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Oklahoma County. Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa, the secon ...

by a margin of 2.28%. Clinton narrowly won in

Oklahoma County Oklahoma County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 718,633, making it the most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Oklahoma City, the state capital and largest ci ...

(the only county to vote for Obama in the 2008 primary), home to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, and Osage County, home of the Osage Native American tribe. Sanders won most of the

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, majority white and deeply

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counties of the state, including those in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Little Dixie, and

Southwestern Oklahoma Southwest Oklahoma is a geographical name for the southwest portion of the state of Oklahoma, typically considered to be south of the Canadian River, extending eastward from the Texas border to a line roughly from Weatherford, to Anadarko, to ...

which are among the most radically

areas of the nation. The Little Dixie region in particular was the base of President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's support in the 1992 and 1996 elections, as this area consists of socially conservative but economically liberal Democrats, many of whom were drawn to Sanders's opposition to trade deals like NAFTA.

References

{{2016 Democratic primaries Oklahoma

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Uni ...

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