CAUCUS CHAOS
‘Quality checks’ delay Iowa results for hours
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Democratic Party said Monday night that results from the state’s first-in-the-nation caucus were greatly delayed due to “quality checks” and new reporting rules, an embarrassing complication that added a new layer of doubt to an already uncertain presidential primary season.
The party said the problem was not a result of a “hack or an intrusion.”
The statement came after Iowa voters packed caucus sites across the state with at least four leading candidates battling to win the opening contest of the 2020 campaign, and ultimately, the opportunity to take on President Donald Trump this fall.
Long before any significant results were released, the candidates pressed ahead with post-election rallies claiming momentum.
“It looks like it’s going to be a long night, but we’re feeling good,” former Vice President Joe Biden said, suggesting the final results would “be close.” “We’re in this for the long haul.”
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he had “a good feeling we’re going to be doing very, very well here in Iowa” once results were posted.
“Listen, it’s too close to call,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren told hundreds of supporters in downtown Des Moines. She echoed Biden’s optimism: “The road won’t be easy. But we are built for the long haul.”
And Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was most certain.
“So we don’t know all the results, but, we know by the time it’s all said and done, Iowa you have shocked the nation,” he said. “By all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious.”
Democrats hoped that Iowa’s caucuses would provide some clarity for what has been a muddled nomination fight for much of the past year. But apparent technology issues delayed the results as the state party suggested turnout was on track to match 2016 numbers.
Party officials held a call with campaigns as concerns were growing over the delays.
Spokeswoman Mandy McClure said the party “found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results.”
“In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate that all results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report,” she said. “This is simply a reporting issue, the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an intrusion. The underlying data and paper trail is sound and will simply take time to further report the results.”
Des Moines County Democratic Chair Tom Courtney blamed technology issues in his county, relaying precinct reports that the app created for caucus organizers to report results was “a mess.” As a result, Courtney said precinct leaders were phoning in results to the state party headquarters, which was too busy to answer their calls in some cases.
Meanwhile, Iowa voters were balancing a strong preference for fundamental change with an overwhelming desire to defeat Trump as they sorted through nearly a dozen candidates in a contest that offered the opening test of who and what the party stands for in the turbulent age of Trump. It’s just the first in a primary season that will span all 50 states and several U.S. territories, ending only at the party’s national convention in mid-July.
For Democrats, the moment was thick with promise for a party that has seized major gains in states since Trump won the White House in 2016. But instead of clear optimism, a cloud of uncertainty and intraparty resentment hung over Monday’s election as the prospect of an unclear result raised fears of a long and divisive primary fight in the months ahead.
One unsurprising development: Trump won the Republican caucus, a largely symbolic victory given that he faced no significant opposition.
The president’s allies also seized on the Democrat’s problems.. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale eagerly floated an unsupported conspiracy theory.
“Quality control = rigged?” Parscale tweeted, adding a emoji with furrowed brows.
The president had already been seeking to sow divisions in the crowded Democratic field and incite Sanders supporters, who believe the Democratic National Committee worked against him in 2016.
Pre-caucus polls suggested that Sanders might have a narrow lead, but any of the top four candidates — Sanders, Biden, Warren and Buttigieg — could score a victory in Iowa.