Iowa Results Up in the Air Amid Reports of Technical Difficulties

The results of the Iowa caucuses, the first-in-the-nation contest for the Democratic presidential primary, remained up in the air late Monday as technical difficulties prompted at least one candidate to call for withholding officials results.

As of 11:15 pm local time, no results were online at the Iowa Democratic Party website, nor was the winner of the caucuses called by major media outlets. Reports were found online over the iPhone app used to cast vote utterly failing, as well as the backup telephonic system.

Amid grumblings on social media about the delay and potential inaccuracy of the count, the Iowa Democratic Party issued a statement saying it was conducting “quality checks” and the delay wasn’t the result of a hack.

Furious over the confusion was Joseph Biden, whose campaign issued a sternly worded letter to Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price urging him to withhold the official results of the caucuses.

“The app that was intended to relay caucus results to the party failed, the party’s back-up telephonic reporting system likewise had failed,” Biden campaign general counsel Dana Remus wrote. “Now, we understand that caucus chairs are attempting to — and, in many cases, failing to — report results telephonically to the party. These acute failures are occurring statewide.”

Meanwhile, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg essentially claimed victory in speech later in the evening despite the confusion over the results.

“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 because by all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious,” Buttigieg said.

Rick Zbur, executive director of the LGBTQ group Equality California, praised Buttigieg in a statement for his win, even though the official results of the caucus weren’t yet known.

“Tonight, Mayor Pete made history,” Zbur said. “His groundbreaking performance in Iowa sends a message to LGBTQ+ young people across the country — from Sioux City to San Francisco, Waterloo to Bakersfield — that their voices matter. Our country needs them. As Harvey Milk said on his own election night more than 40 years ago, ‘We’ve given them hope.’”

Meanwhile, the Iowa Republican Parry had no reported problems in the administration of its caucuses.

President Trump won 97 percent of the votes in the Iowa Republican caucuses in his bids for the Republican nomination to run for re-election, barely taking a scratch from challengers former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois.

According to the Iowa Republican Party, the number of votes Trump obtained were more than former President Obama obtained in the Democratic caucuses when he ran for re-election in 2012.

Brad Parscale, Trump 2020 campaign manager, chided the Democrats for their difficulties in certifying their results.

“Democrats are stewing in a caucus mess of their own creation with the sloppiest train wreck in history,” Parscale said. “It would be natural for people to doubt the fairness of the process. And these are the people who want to run our entire health care system? Tonight President Trump posted a record performance in the well-run GOP Iowa caucuses with record turnout for an incumbent.”

Story courtesy of the Washington Blade.