Rep. James Clyburn said the Democratic Party should do away with caucuses after Iowa’s system broke down this week.
The South Carolina Democrat said he has been a longtime opponent of the Iowa caucuses over demographic reasons and because caucuses can be “manipulated.” Clyburn voiced his opposition to the current system in an interview with Politico on C-SPAN on Friday.
Clyburn brought up his work on the McGovern-Fraser Commission, named after Sen. George McGovern and Rep. Donald Fraser. The commission was created after the 1968 Democratic National Convention to reform how the Democratic Party nominates presidential candidates.
“Iowa should be in the mix, but we shouldn’t launch an entire campaign with such a small sampling of what the country is all about,” Clyburn said. “So, I have always been against that.”
“I really think we ought to get rid of caucuses,” Clyburn continued. “I know how caucuses are manipulated. I’ve been in the caucuses, and I know how they are manipulated. We ought not have caucuses. Open primaries should be the way to go.”
Clyburn renewed his attack on the Iowa caucuses after the latest Democratic contest in the state was derailed by technical glitches and other fumbles, according to state party officials. Iowa’s Democratic Party held its caucus for the 2020 Democratic nominee for president on Monday, but party officials have yet to name a winner.
An app created to report results failed for many precinct chairmen and chairwomen, and a hotline set up to record votes over the phone did not work as expected. Party officials had significant problems recording and verifying results.
With 96% of precincts reporting, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is leading with 26.2% of the vote. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is trailing Buttigieg by 0.1%. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden are sitting third and fourth with 18.2% and 15.8%, respectively.
