Amy Klobuchar never had to win the Iowa caucuses. She just had to have a strong enough showing that she looked like she could play at the big kids’ table. Lucky for her, the Iowa Democratic Party botched the first vote of the year so badly that the clock will likely strike midnight on the east coast without a results announcement. Even more fortunate, Klobuchar was wise enough to see the void that her curmudgeonly counterparts left for her.

The Minnesota senator, like every other candidate in the Democratic primary, had nothing to announce. Not one delegate and not one definitive precinct. And yet she went out to her campaign rally, ebullient and effervescent, nearly declaring victory.