Wyoming's Caucus Is Coming 'Round The Mountain

Wyoming's Democratic caucus is coming up on Saturday, and following a big win for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Wisconsin, the Wyoming caucus is sure to be another heated match between the Democratic candidates. So what time does Wyoming's caucus start? The Democratic caucus will get started on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET). Voters will go to their county polling place, where people will be speaking in support of their preferred candidate in hopes of winning over any final undecided voters. The presidential candidates will receive delegates at the end of the caucus, on a proportional basis.

Wyoming's delegate count is pretty small. There are a total 14 delegates and four superdelegates at stake for the candidates, and as with all proportional states, what matters most is the margin of support between Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The wider the margin, the more delegates one candidate will win over the other. Leading up to Wyoming's caucus, there is little polling data on the state specifically. However, the most recent polls from McClatchy-Marist put Sanders in the lead at the national level, by 49 to 47 percent. The same poll found that, if Sanders were the general election nominee, 79 percent of Clinton supporters would back him, compared to 69 percent of Sanders supporters, if the results went the other way around.

Sanders has been campaigning in Wyoming leading up to Saturday's caucus. He was already there, in Laramie, on Tuesday night for a rally, as Wisconsin primary results came in. One of the 1,800 Sanders supporters who attended spoke to the Casper Star Tribune. Robert Wolfe told them, "I think he’s really going to get this nation back into shape, economically and politically. The billionaires have too much power."

Former President Bill Clinton also made an appearance in Wyoming on Monday to campaign for Hillary. He spoke to a crowd of 500 people about expanding Medicaid and energy production. He was, however, met with coal miners who showed up to protest the Clinton campaign. One protester, Yvette Land said, "Hillary had in one of her speeches said specifically she intends to put coal mines and coal miners out of work. We have families. We have kids and grandkids that rely upon the coal industry."

If you plan to participate in Saturday's caucus, take note. Wyoming's caucus is closed, meaning that you can only participate if you are a registered Democrat — Wyoming's Republican caucus already took place on March 12. Voters who wish to cast a ballot on Saturday must be 18 by the next presidential election (November 2016), and also must be a Wyoming resident.