Bernie Sanders during Iowa Caucuses.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has just declared himself the winner of the Iowa Caucuses and he’s blasting the Iowa Democratic Party for the “screw up” of results.
“I think what has happened with the Iowa Democratic Party is an outrage, that they were that unprepared, that they put forth such a complicated process, relied on untested technology,” Sander said.
The chairman of the Democratic National Committee has called for a count of the Caucus results, but only candidates can do that. Sanders doesn’t seem inclined.
“Iowa is finally, hopefully, behind us,” Sanders said earlier this afternoon.
Sanders said with 97 percent of precincts reporting, he has a “decisive margin” in the raw vote totals and only a “tiny fraction” separates his delegate tally from Pete Buttigieg’s delegate results.
“The Iowa process is enormously complicated,” Sanders said. “In my view, it is far too complicated.”
Sanders said it is unacceptable that he had to declare victory three days after the Caucuses, while standing in New Hampshire, because the Iowa Democratic Party did not produce timely results.
“That screw up has been extremely unfair to the people of Iowa,” Sanders said. “It has been unfair the candidates — all of the candidates — and all of their supporters.”
Sanders, during a news conference, told reporters he feels bad for the volunteers and voters who participated in the Caucuses.
“I have been all over the state, as you well know we have held 120 rallies and town meetings and these are serious people who are trying to do the best they can in determining who the best candidate for president is,” Sanders said.
The Buttigieg campaign, meanwhile, has raised concerns that the Iowa Democratic Party did not properly calculate the delegate math from satellite caucuses.