Chelsea Schneider, and Brian Eason

IndyStar

Bernie Sanders scored a meaningful victory Tuesday in Indiana’s primary, narrowly defeating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in an election dynamic defined by the loss of manufacturing jobs in the state.

While Sanders bested Clinton, her wide delegate lead indicates she is still the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. But Sanders remained defiant Tuesday and told supporters the win in Indiana helped him gain "the momentum that we need to take us to the finish line."

In Indiana, Sanders faced a critical challenge where he needed to muster enough Hoosier support to justify continuing his campaign through to the Democratic National Convention.

Election results Wednesday morning showed Sanders leading Clinton with 52 percent to 48 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press. That was with 5,290 of the state’s 5,374 precincts reporting.

“The political revolution wins in Indiana," Sanders tweeted Tuesday night as the race was called.

In a victory speech in Louisville, Ky., Sanders said: "The path is narrow – I do not deny that for a moment. But I think that we can pull off one of the great political upsets in the history of the United States."

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Sanders defeating Clinton doesn’t come as a surprise. Most polls in the run-up to the race showed the Democratic front-runner carrying only a slight lead, and he ran television ads in the state whereas Clinton did not.

In the wake of Carrier Corp. and an affiliate’s plans to lay off 2,100 workers to move operations to Mexico, Sanders struck a nerve. He lobbed criticism at free trade agreements that he argued forced manufacturing jobs to leave the United States, and he called for a $15 minimum wage and a Medicare-for-all public health care system.

His criticism elevated what some feel is a weakness for Clinton: her husband and former president, Bill Clinton, signing the North American Free Trade Agreement that many blue-collar workers blame for the decline of American manufacturing. Indiana shed nearly a fourth of the 672,200 manufacturing jobs it had at its peak in 1999, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. As of March, 515,900 Hoosiers were employed in manufacturing.

Sanders earned endorsements from key steelworker unions. And to cement that support, he came to the Indiana Statehouse on Friday to rally with union workers against Carrier’s plans.

"They have no shame," Sanders said at the rally. "... Stop the greed. Stop destroying the middle class in America."

Indiana seemed well-suited for Sanders, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

“It is an open primary state, and Sanders has done better in states that have greater numbers of self-identified independents,” Kondik told IndyStar. “While Indiana does have a sizable African-American vote, which has been friendly to Clinton, it’s not a very diverse electorate. That’s also been helpful to Sanders.”

Sanders has shown signs of shifting the purpose of his campaign. He now has his sights on the June 7 California primary; he considers its high delegate count a “major prize.” But short of landslide victories in the remaining states, Sanders can’t overcome Clinton’s lead. In speaking to thousands of supporters in Bloomington last week, his message began evolving to one more focused on the lasting impact he could make on the party’s platform.

Indianapolis City-County Council Vice President Zach Adamson, a Sanders supporter, said that this election is bigger than Sanders – it’s a movement of ideas. He said he hopes Sanders stays in the race through the convention.

“Once it becomes clear that you’re not going to be the nominee, it becomes even more important that what survives is the mission,” said Adamson, a Democrat.

Adamson said Sanders already has pushed Clinton to the left on a number of issues as the campaign has gone on: “You can’t call this a failed campaign if for only that reason.”

City-County Councilman Jared Evans, another Sanders supporter, was drawn to the candidate because he has pushed for systemic change in how Americans elect their leaders, beginning with an overhaul of how campaigns are financed and the role that party elites play in the nominating process.

“We are trying to get out of this system of Clintons and Bushes and people who were crowned the nominee from the very beginning,” said Evans, a moderate Democrat who himself was elected despite the opposition of local party leaders. “It’s exactly that type of setup that’s given way to voter fatigue.”

U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, a Clinton supporter, said after Sanders' win in Indiana that "the electorate has been engaged."

"I think millennials here are excited about Bernie Sanders," he said. "This was democracy in action. Pundits will tell you Hoosiers are independent thinkers."

For Clinton, Indiana’s primary didn’t carry as high of stakes, and she’ll still leave the Hoosier state picking up delegates. She focused her time in the state touring two manufacturing plants in northern Indiana and holding a single rally in Indianapolis.

At those events she called for a “manufacturing renaissance.”

“Indiana has so much potential for the future and I want it to be part of the kind of positive, confident future I’m offering in this election,” Clinton told IndyStar on Sunday.

Beyond manufacturing, Clinton focused on what she described as an “assault” on rights that has played out across the country and in Indiana. Clinton said she would stand up for marriage equality, women’s reproductive health rights and workers’ rights to organize.

She criticized Republican Gov. Mike Pence and the Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly for enacting stricter abortion restrictions this past legislative session. She also decried the state’s passage of a "right to work" law that opponents say undercuts labor unions.

In aiming for a replay of her 2008 primary win in Indiana against Barack Obama, Clinton enjoyed the support of many of the Democratic leaders in the state.

In Indiana, 92 Democratic delegates were at stake. The majority are divvied out proportional to the vote in the state’s congressional districts, with the remaining proportional to the statewide outcome. Nine are considered superdelegates and free to support who they want.

Sanders garnered 43 of Indiana's Democratic delegates, compared with Clinton's 37 delegates, according to Associated Press projections late Tuesday.

Before Indiana, Clinton's delegate count, including unpledged superdelegates, was at 2,165 and Sanders was at 1,357, according to the Associated Press. A candidate needs 2,383 delegate votes to win the Democratic nomination.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.

IndyStar reporter Amy Bartner contributed to this story.

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