Iowa’s First Place In Presidential Contests Questioned After 2020 Caucus Mayhem

Hours after the caucuses in Iowa ended, zero precincts were reporting official results.

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg claimed at least partial victory in front of supporters just after midnight, but it’s not clear what exactly he’s basing that on.

“I’d rather have the right answer late than the wrong answer.” – Emily Stewart, Vox

The state Democratic Party says it found inconsistencies in the three sets of numbers it collected from the caucuses. It assured the public that the new app it was using to collect results was not hacked. It says the app was reporting partial results due to a “coding issue.”

Click on the player above to hear Vox reporter Emily Stewart talk about the Iowa caucuses.

Given the conspiracy theories being spread on social media — by the president himself, his allies, supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders and other insurgent factions inside the party — it’s clear that the long delay threatens to undermine confidence in the final results as well as organizers’ ability to run such an important contest.

In an interview with WJR radio (760 AM), Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) said she’s now trying to build a coalition to end the practice of holding the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Should Iowa continue to go first in these presidential nominating contests? Is it time to let a more representative state take the first shot — or even re-think the entire nominating system?

Guest

Emily Stewart is a reporter with Vox covering the 2020 presidential race and politics. She says the Iowa caucuses were clearly a mess, but that she’s also glad that the state party did have some safeguards in place and has not rushed to report numbers that might not be accurate.

“They seem to have some systems in place in case there was a problem,” says Stewart on Detroit Today. “It’s kind of weird to have to wait, but I’d rather have the right answer late than the wrong answer early.”