Iowa Results Continue To Trickle In

03.20.20 | 1:09 pm

DES MOINES, IOWA - JANUARY 14: Tom Steyer (L-R), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Vice Pre... DES MOINES, IOWA - JANUARY 14: Tom Steyer (L-R), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) await the start of the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. Six candidates out of the field qualified for the first Democratic presidential primary debate of 2020, hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) MORE LESS

What To Expect

With 62 percent of precincts reporting, Buttigieg is leading the pack in Iowa with 26.9 percent of the state delegate equivalents. Full results of the caucuses are still unknown due to technical issues with an app the Iowa Democratic Party used this year to record caucus totals, and reporting issues with systems meant to back up the app.
Caucus voting is not like regular voting: Rather than filling out secret ballots, caucus-goers announce their preferences in public, in front of their neighbors, at more than 1,600 caucusing sites across the state (and a few outside of Iowa).
Only candidates who in the first round of voting have received the support of 15% of caucus-goers at a given location are eligible to receive delegates at that location. In a second round of voting, supporters of those candidates who received less than 15% support can cast their vote for a more popular candidate. After that second tally, delegates are apportioned.
The rules, already complicated in years past, are slightly different this year.
Caucuses began Monday at 7 p.m. Iowa time, or 8 p.m. ET. Results were expected between 8:30 and 11 p.m. ET. By midnight, it was clear something was wrong this year.
Ultimately, Iowa only sends 41 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, but the momentum from a successful caucus day is crucial to presidential contenders.

Our Iowa caucus liveblog continues. The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, a much-anticipated electoral kick-off to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, have turned out to be a fiasco. Reporting issues mean the results were, and continue to be, considerably delayed.

The initial results started to trickle in Tuesday evening, setting the tone for the primary as the candidates campaign across the country for the party’s nomination. Follow along below.

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Nicole LaFond is TPM’s deputy editor for news, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

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Notable Replies

rockitttla says:

February 3, 2020

Go Warren!
littlegirlblue says:

February 3, 2020

It’s the 21st century and Iowa and aging 89% white population are still considered relevant. Someone needs to explain this.
dave48 says:

February 3, 2020

It should be noted that no candidate since 1976 who has won both Iowa and New Hampshire has not gone on to win the nomination. Also, apart from 1992, the candidate who won either Iowa or New Hampshire has gone on to win. Downplay Iowa all you wish, but they usually pick the winner, like it or not.
mike_in_houston says:

February 3, 2020

They vote. Consistently.
littlegirlblue says:

February 3, 2020

Yes, they do, like most aging white populations do. It’s not representative, IMO, of more and more states in the 21st century where people are younger, of color and of different religions.

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