Bernie Sanders: 'We've Won a Big, Big Victory in West Virginia'

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders won big in West Virginia on Tuesday, handily defeating his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and slashing her lead in the race for the party's nomination.

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"We've won a big, big victory in West Virginia," Sanders told cheering supporters Tuesday night. "The people of West Virginia," he said, "want an economy that works for all of us."

"We are in this campaign to win," Sanders continued. "And we are going to fight for every last vote in Oregon, Kentucky, California, (and) the Dakotas."

West Virginia, where 37 delegates were up for grabs, is one of the poorer states in the U.S., and it proved to be ripe ground for Sanders' anti-establishment message.

With 89 percent of the votes counted, Sanders was ahead of Clinton by 51. percent to 36.1 percent, with his lead expanding as the night goes on.

Presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump ran unopposed, his last remaining challengers having dropped out last week, winning West Virginia and a Republican-only contest in Nebraska.