Activists and campaigns for Democratic presidential candidates are frustrated and on the edges of their seats as results in the Iowa caucuses are unexpectedly delayed.
The Iowa Democratic Party initially said that the first precinct results could come in as early as 8:30 p.m. CST — an hour and a half after the caucuses started. As of 9:30 p.m. CST, there were no results reported. The party said two hours after the caucuses started that they were conducting “quality control” and that the delay was “out of an abundance of caution.”
At this point in 2016, more than 80% of precinct results were in.
Earlier on Monday, Iowa precinct heads reported difficulties logging into and using an app used to report caucuses results for their locations.
Iowa party officials for the first time this year are reporting raw vote totals for each caucus site, which analysts speculated may be an explanation for the delay. The high number of competitive candidates could also be an issue.
Staff members at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s campaign post-caucus rally location were overheard expressing worries and frustrations about the process.
“Maybe I should have stayed for second round,” one staff member said.
CNN reported that aides for former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign worried that the delays could call into question the integrity of the results.
Party officials said at about 9:45 p.m. CST that “around 25 percent of precincts have reported, and early data indicates turnout is on pace for 2016.”
.@SteveKornacki reports that Iowa State Democratic Party says it is doing “quality control” on results “out of an abundance of caution.” #IowaCaucuses pic.twitter.com/GHwIi4BSj4
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 4, 2020
Democratic strategist David Axelrod appeared frustrated as well. “What the heck is ‘quality control?'” he tweeted.
What the heck is “quality control?”
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) February 4, 2020
Ian Sams, former national press secretary for drop-out candidate Sen. Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, noted that a delay in Iowa results could make it harder for campaigns to capitalize on momentum from the state’s results.
The later tonight that results come out, the less of a “bump” the eventual winner gets out of Iowa. Fewer hours pre-Trump State of the Union and Senate impeachment vote to seize attention and, thus, momentum.
New Hampshire is licking its chops…
— Ian Sams (@IanSams) February 4, 2020
Remember who was in charge of “quality control” at The Office? ===> pic.twitter.com/G6CVaIT77r
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) February 4, 2020
The 2012 Iowa caucuses were a ****show when Rick Santorum beat Mitt Romney, except it wasn’t clear for days. The 2016 Clinton-Sanders photo finish was a mess. Looks like we’re headed for 3 for 3. Not a good look.
— Mark Z. Barabak (@markzbarabak) February 4, 2020
Ireland holds an election on Saturday. Who wants to bet their vote count finishes before #IACaucus?
— Henry Olsen (@henryolsenEPPC) February 4, 2020
Joseph Simonson contributed to this story.
