BERNIE SANDERS campaigning (Flickr).

UPDATE: With about 50 percent of precincts reporting on Sunday afternoon, Sanders had 46.6 percent of the vote, Biden had 19.2 percent, Buttigieg 15.4 percent and Warren 10.3 percent.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders is headed toward victory Saturday in Nevada’s Democratic presidential caucus. The Vermont “democratic socialist” was leading the field as results were being tabulated, with former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts close together.

“We are bringing our people together, “ he said. “In Nevada we have just brought together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, it’s going to sweep this country.”

According to Data For Progress, the estimate is that Sanders won 35 percent, with Biden and Warren at 16 percent and Buttigieg at 15 percent. The other major Democratic contender – Mike Bloomberg, former mayor of New York – was not on the ballot in the Silver State.

The election focus now shifts to South Carolina on Feb. 29, then on to “Super Tuesday” (March 3) with 17 states holding primaries.