Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino county voters back Sanders

Voters in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties were “feeling the Bern” again as they backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over invigorated former Vice President Joe Biden in the California primary, one of 14 state elections on Super Tuesday.

Sanders, who swept all three North Coast counties in the 2016 Democratic primary, held 30% of the vote in Sonoma County Wednesday morning with all 526 precincts reporting. Biden trailed with 20% and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg had 17%.

In Mendocino County, Sanders had 43% of the vote with 100% of precincts counted. Biden had 15% and Bloomberg had 11%. In Lake County, Sanders had a narrow 29% edge over Biden, who had amassed nearly 28%. Bloomberg trailed with 17% of the vote and all 70 precincts reporting by Wednesday morning.

Statewide, the self-described democratic socialist Sanders held almost 34% with all but one of the more than 20,300 precincts reporting Wednesday, topping Biden, with 25% of the vote, and Bloomberg, with 14%.

Biden came into Super Tuesday with momentum from his big win in South Carolina on Saturday, followed by endorsements from Democrats Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke, all dropouts from the once-crowded race.

Theresa Pisani of Camp Meeker said she voted for Sanders - as she did four years ago - because he took no campaign funds from major donors and was beholden to no special interests.

“He's real. He's for the people,” she said. “He's the one who's bringing the young people out to the polls. They want change; they want progress.”

Dee Woicicki of Occidental said she cast a ballot for Biden because he made a good vice president under Barack Obama for eight years. “I think he makes the most sense,” she said. “He's a moderate. He would do a great job.”

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, whose district covers the North Coast, said he knew Sanders had strong support in the dark blue region. “It looks like a two-person race now,” Huffman said, expressing admiration for the strength of Biden's Super Tuesday rebound.