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| Clinton and Sanders battle for Wyoming as Republicans gather in Colorado – campaign live | Clinton and Sanders battle for Wyoming as Republicans gather in Colorado – campaign live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 7.47pm BST | |
| 19:47 | |
| Mona Chalabi | |
| For about 12 minutes this week, Bill Clinton defended his presidency to protesters who accused him and his wife of harming black communities with their policies on crime and welfare, as well as their language about “super-predators”. “You are defending the people who kill the lives you say matter,” Clinton told them, though protesters insisted that he contributed to the mass incarceration of black people and increases in poverty. | |
| Were the protesters “trying to get good television”, as Clinton later said in a half-hearted apology? Or was Clinton not telling “the whole story”, as protesters claimed? | |
| ‘Because of that bill, we had a 25-year low in crime’ | |
| The law under scrutiny is the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which made sweeping changes in the US justice system, including tougher sentences and money for police officers and prisons. | |
| Clinton is right that in 1995 crime rates fell, though he can’t take all the credit for a decline in crime that began before he took office. In 1995, the crime rate (defined as the total number of property and violent crimes per 100,000 people) fell from 5,374 to 5,275, a its lowest level in 10 years – not 25, as Clinton claimed on Thursday. Statistics and studies also show that crime had been falling since 1991, long before his crime bill was passed. Clinton’s claim that crime rates were immediately and dramatically affected by the law lacks support. | |
| ‘A 33-year low in the murder rate’ | |
| Clinton also credited the bill with lowering murder rates, specifically. Here again, there’s a similar obfuscation of statistics. In 1995, the murder rate was 8.2 per 100,000 US inhabitants, the lowest level since 1985 and not the 33-year low Clinton claimed. | |
| These statistics vary little once you account for race. In 1995, 31.2 out of every 100,000 black Americans was a homicide victim – the lowest level since 1987 but still almost seven times higher than the white victimization rate. Those who are keen to focus on the issue of crime committed by African Americans against other African Americans should keep in mind that victims and offenders usually know each other, making intra-racial violent crime a general trend in the US. Black-on-black crime accounts for a similar percentage of all homicides as white-on-white crime. | |
| ‘The largest drop in African American poverty in history’ | |
| In 1996, Bill Clinton signed into law a contested welfare reform bill. Much like Clinton’s other claims on Thursday, his defense of it has some support. During Clinton’s presidency (1993-2001), black poverty rates did fall to historic lows. By 2000, the percentage of black Americans living in poverty had fallen to 22.5%, the lowest level since 1974. However, like the crime statistics mentioned above, the downward trend began in 1991, and the effect of the law was not so clear cut as to work for the general good of all African Americans. Single mothers benefited from the reform bill, for instance, but the number of Americans living in extreme poverty – a minority within the group living in poverty – more than doubled from 1996 to 2013. | |
| Related: Fact-checking Bill Clinton's defense of his legacy on crime and poverty | |
| 7.33pm BST | |
| 19:33 | |
| Donald Trump's failing ground game in Colorado could boost Ted Cruz | |
| Ben Jacobs | |
| At the Colorado state convention, Rocky Mountain State Republicans are meeting to elect 13 delegates and 13 alternates to the national convention in Cleveland. | |
| With more than 600 candidates on the ballot, voting takes place by Scantron and state convention delegates bubble in circles next to the number of their choice. There are no names on the ballot. All three presidential campaigns are handing out sample ballots to ease the process. They provide a slate of names with the number to each candidate. | |
| The problem for Trump campaign is that they are putting out sample ballots with wrong numbers. The campaign originally put out a sample ballot with wrong numbers for seven delegates. Once corrected, there were still four numbers wrong. | |
| Corrected Trump sample ballot still has three wrong numbers pic.twitter.com/6EeS1rUDIY | |
| Even worse: One of the four uncorrected errors would lead to Trump voters casting their ballots for a candidate pledge to support Ted Cruz. It’s yet another example of the Trump campaign, which only hired its current state director on Tuesday, struggling to organize in the state. | |
| 7.14pm BST | 7.14pm BST |
| 19:14 | 19:14 |
| Bernie Sanders rallies in the Bronx | Bernie Sanders rallies in the Bronx |
| At a campaign rally in the New York City borough of the Bronx this afternoon, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders highlighted policies that would positively impact racial minorities. | At a campaign rally in the New York City borough of the Bronx this afternoon, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders highlighted policies that would positively impact racial minorities. |
| “We’re gonna invest in our young people in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration!” Sanders said, to loud cheers and chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!” from the crowd. | “We’re gonna invest in our young people in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration!” Sanders said, to loud cheers and chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!” from the crowd. |
| “We are going to reform a very, very broke criminal justice system,” he continued. “I am tired and you are tired of seeing videos on television of unarmed people, often minorities, being shot.” Sanders cautioned that the vast majority of police officers are law-abiding citizens who face danger in their day-to-day work keeping American cities safe, “but when a police officer, like any other public official, breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable.” | “We are going to reform a very, very broke criminal justice system,” he continued. “I am tired and you are tired of seeing videos on television of unarmed people, often minorities, being shot.” Sanders cautioned that the vast majority of police officers are law-abiding citizens who face danger in their day-to-day work keeping American cities safe, “but when a police officer, like any other public official, breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable.” |
| Sanders also called the abolishment of for-profit prisons, telling the crowd that “corporations should not be making money by getting more people into jail - that’s wrong.” | Sanders also called the abolishment of for-profit prisons, telling the crowd that “corporations should not be making money by getting more people into jail - that’s wrong.” |
| With a few notable exceptions, Sanders has underperformed among African-American voters and Latino-heavy communities in primaries and caucuses, and still falls behind opponent Hillary Clinton in polling of those groups. | With a few notable exceptions, Sanders has underperformed among African-American voters and Latino-heavy communities in primaries and caucuses, and still falls behind opponent Hillary Clinton in polling of those groups. |
| 7.06pm BST | 7.06pm BST |
| 19:06 | 19:06 |
| We know virtually everything about the presidential candidates, and as primary season presses on we’re gaining a better sense of their national electability. In addition to covering their campaigns, we want to know which issues matter most to you. Tell us and help shape our coverage. | We know virtually everything about the presidential candidates, and as primary season presses on we’re gaining a better sense of their national electability. In addition to covering their campaigns, we want to know which issues matter most to you. Tell us and help shape our coverage. |
| Open contributions: Which election issue matters most to you? | Open contributions: Which election issue matters most to you? |
| 6.56pm BST | 6.56pm BST |
| 18:56 | 18:56 |
| Meanwhile, in a neighboring rectangular state, Texas senator Ted Cruz’s ground game in Colorado is poised win him a vast majority of delegates in the state’s Republican convention today, a possible window into the senator’s strategy for the the seemingly inevitable contested convention in Cleveland this summer. | Meanwhile, in a neighboring rectangular state, Texas senator Ted Cruz’s ground game in Colorado is poised win him a vast majority of delegates in the state’s Republican convention today, a possible window into the senator’s strategy for the the seemingly inevitable contested convention in Cleveland this summer. |
| Cruz has already won every delegate available in the district elections held over the past week in Colorado, and appears on the verge of shutting out opponent Donald Trump, whose organizational woes have contributed to delegate attrition even in states that he won handily, like Louisiana. | Cruz has already won every delegate available in the district elections held over the past week in Colorado, and appears on the verge of shutting out opponent Donald Trump, whose organizational woes have contributed to delegate attrition even in states that he won handily, like Louisiana. |
| Case in point: The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs reports from the state convention that Trump’s campaign apparatus has bungled its ballots for pro-Trump delegates - at the Colorado state convention, attendees vote for delegates who support certain candidates, rather than candidates themselves - almost beyond belief. | Case in point: The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs reports from the state convention that Trump’s campaign apparatus has bungled its ballots for pro-Trump delegates - at the Colorado state convention, attendees vote for delegates who support certain candidates, rather than candidates themselves - almost beyond belief. |
| Looking at the Trump sample ballot, they have the delegate numbers wrong for 7 different people there. Votes cast on scantrons here. | Looking at the Trump sample ballot, they have the delegate numbers wrong for 7 different people there. Votes cast on scantrons here. |
| Of the 7 wrong numbers on the Trump sample ballot in CO, four lead to votes for other Trump delegates, two go to unpledged and one to Cruz | Of the 7 wrong numbers on the Trump sample ballot in CO, four lead to votes for other Trump delegates, two go to unpledged and one to Cruz |
| Also, Trump sample ballot misspells the names of two delegates in CO. One of whom also has the wrong number | Also, Trump sample ballot misspells the names of two delegates in CO. One of whom also has the wrong number |
| Corrected Trump sample ballot still has three wrong numbers pic.twitter.com/6EeS1rUDIY | Corrected Trump sample ballot still has three wrong numbers pic.twitter.com/6EeS1rUDIY |
| 6.37pm BST | 6.37pm BST |
| 18:37 | 18:37 |
| Scott Bixby | Scott Bixby |
| As Democrats in each of Wyoming’s 23 counties begin the caucus process, here’s a quick rundown of what’s at stake for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the Cowboy State. | As Democrats in each of Wyoming’s 23 counties begin the caucus process, here’s a quick rundown of what’s at stake for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the Cowboy State. |
| Wyoming will send a scant 18 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer, of which only 14 will be selected by today’s caucus results. Given Clinton’s current delegate lead over Sanders (1,280 to 1,030, discounting) a victory in today’s caucus is less about math than “momentum.” Sanders has won the last six nominating contests in a row, and a win in Wyoming would give him another notch in his belt ahead of more numerically important contests in New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut later this month. | Wyoming will send a scant 18 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer, of which only 14 will be selected by today’s caucus results. Given Clinton’s current delegate lead over Sanders (1,280 to 1,030, discounting) a victory in today’s caucus is less about math than “momentum.” Sanders has won the last six nominating contests in a row, and a win in Wyoming would give him another notch in his belt ahead of more numerically important contests in New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut later this month. |
| The demographics are good for Sanders: Wyoming, like many of the states in which he has claimed victory, is a rural, white, Western caucus state with a small but vocal Democratic minority. Additionally, Wyoming is a state that has not traditionally fallen behind Clinton: In 2008, then-senator Barack Obama defeated Clinton 61% to 38% in the state’s caucus. | The demographics are good for Sanders: Wyoming, like many of the states in which he has claimed victory, is a rural, white, Western caucus state with a small but vocal Democratic minority. Additionally, Wyoming is a state that has not traditionally fallen behind Clinton: In 2008, then-senator Barack Obama defeated Clinton 61% to 38% in the state’s caucus. |
| An extension of his current winning streak has been high on Sanders’ to-do list - which might explain why he gave his victory speech after his success in the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday in Laramie, Wyoming, a college town of 30,000 people. | An extension of his current winning streak has been high on Sanders’ to-do list - which might explain why he gave his victory speech after his success in the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday in Laramie, Wyoming, a college town of 30,000 people. |
| 6.24pm BST | 6.24pm BST |
| 18:24 | 18:24 |
| Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton face off in Wyoming caucus | Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton face off in Wyoming caucus |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Wyoming’s Democratic caucuses and Colorado Republican convention, contests in which Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz are trying to clear paths to the presidency with unorthodox campaigns. | Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Wyoming’s Democratic caucuses and Colorado Republican convention, contests in which Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz are trying to clear paths to the presidency with unorthodox campaigns. |
| Bernie Sanders, who has won six contests in a row and polls well in western states, is hoping to continue his string of victories ahead of the next primary, in New York. Although Wyoming has far fewer delegates than New York’s 291, a resounding defeat for Hillary Clinton there would play to Sanders’ argument that he is as electable as the Democratic frontrunner, who still has a huge lead in delegates. | Bernie Sanders, who has won six contests in a row and polls well in western states, is hoping to continue his string of victories ahead of the next primary, in New York. Although Wyoming has far fewer delegates than New York’s 291, a resounding defeat for Hillary Clinton there would play to Sanders’ argument that he is as electable as the Democratic frontrunner, who still has a huge lead in delegates. |
| Both Sanders and Clinton are holding competing events in New York City, and my colleague Lauren Gambino will report on their attempts to court the city’s diverse electorate. On Friday, Brooklyn welcomed its native son warmly, and Democrats in Buffalo heard Clinton turn her ire toward Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner. | Both Sanders and Clinton are holding competing events in New York City, and my colleague Lauren Gambino will report on their attempts to court the city’s diverse electorate. On Friday, Brooklyn welcomed its native son warmly, and Democrats in Buffalo heard Clinton turn her ire toward Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner. |
| Bill Clinton is still on the trail for his wife, though not without controversy. Data editor Mona Chalabi has fact-checked the former president’s defense of crime and welfare laws that he signed, and which protesters said are responsible for the mass incarceration and poverty of black Americans. | Bill Clinton is still on the trail for his wife, though not without controversy. Data editor Mona Chalabi has fact-checked the former president’s defense of crime and welfare laws that he signed, and which protesters said are responsible for the mass incarceration and poverty of black Americans. |
| In Colorado, Ted Cruz continues to chip away at Trump’s lead in the delegates. Cruz’s well-organized campaign has outplayed Trump’s clumsy operation at nearly every turn in Denver, where local party members have far more control of the process than in open primary elections that have given Trump his lead. | In Colorado, Ted Cruz continues to chip away at Trump’s lead in the delegates. Cruz’s well-organized campaign has outplayed Trump’s clumsy operation at nearly every turn in Denver, where local party members have far more control of the process than in open primary elections that have given Trump his lead. |
| My colleague Ben Jacobs is in Denver to report on Cruz’s creep toward the frontrunner, and Trump’s struggle to make his campaign functional on the ground. Scott Bixby will be here shortly to host their reporting and give live results from the caucuses and convention as they come in. | My colleague Ben Jacobs is in Denver to report on Cruz’s creep toward the frontrunner, and Trump’s struggle to make his campaign functional on the ground. Scott Bixby will be here shortly to host their reporting and give live results from the caucuses and convention as they come in. |
| Related: The Clintons of Chappaqua: it's Hillary's home turf, but Bill still shines | Related: The Clintons of Chappaqua: it's Hillary's home turf, but Bill still shines |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 7.15pm BST | at 7.15pm BST |