Bernie Sanders in Burlington. (file photo)
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is tamping down the furor over the results of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Caucuses.
Sanders and Hillary Clinton debated last night in New Hampshire, on MSNBC, and one of the questions was about the photo finish here on Monday night.
Moderator Chuck Todd mentioned The Des Moines Register editorial saying that “something smells” and the way the Caucuses were run was a “debacle.”
“I agree with The Des Moines Register, but let’s not blow this out of proportion,” Sanders said. “This is not like a winner-take-all thing. I think where we now stand, correct me if I’m wrong, you have 22 delegates. I have 20 delegates. We need 2500 delegates to win the nomination. This is not the biggest deal in the world.”
The Sanders campaign has been reviewing all the reports it received from Sanders precinct captains. Sanders said they believe he’d receive “at least two more” if there was an audit of the results.
“At the end of the day, no matter how it’s recounted, it will break roughly even and, by the way, I love and respect the caucus process in Iowa, see, and I don’t have to say it because they voted already,” Sanders said, to laughter from the audience in the debate hall.
But Sanders suggested the arcane rules for how the Iowa Democratic Party’s Caucuses are run should be changed.
“Look, I think people are blowing this up out of proportion, but I think we need improvements in the process by which results are determined,” Sanders said.
Hillary Clinton was asked if she would oppose the idea of auditing the Democratic Party’s Iowa Caucus results.
“Whatever they decide to do, that’s fine,” Clinton replied.
The Iowa Democratic Party announced the final results shortly before noon on Tuesday. It was the closest contest in the history of the Iowa Caucuses.
AUDIO of this segment of the debate, courtesy of MSNBC