Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price resigned following the caucus reporting disaster that delayed and muddled results from the first-in-the-nation Democratic presidential nominating contest last week.
“While it is my desire to stay in this role and see this process through to completion, I do believe it is time for the Iowa Democratic Party to begin looking forward, and my presence in my current role makes that more difficult. Therefore, I will resign as chair of the Iowa Democratic Party effective upon the election of my replacement,” Price said in a resignation letter Wednesday.
His resignation will be official after an election on Saturday.
The first voting results in the Democratic presidential field were derailed by glitches in an app intended to report results from Iowa precincts to headquarters, with partial results only released the next day. Later, a New York Times analysis revealed inconsistencies in the results in over 100 precincts, such as errors in allocating state delegate equivalents to results that should not have been possible under caucus rules.
On caucus night, the party was ill-prepared to handle the technical problems it faced. A phone line intended to be used as a backup to report results was allegedly clogged with prank calls from supporters of President Trump.
The delay was thought to stunt momentum of former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won the most delegates and the popular vote, respectively, and were unable to claim decisive victory on caucus night.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez last week called for a recanvass of results, but only the campaigns have the authority to request one. The campaigns for Sanders and Buttigieg on Sunday each requested a partial recanvass, which amounted to 85 precincts. It is unclear when the process will be complete.
