Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price talks to the media.
The Iowa Democratic Party released updated results from last Monday’s Iowa Caucuses on Sunday evening, giving Pete Buttigieg two more national convention delegates than Bernie Sanders in the final tally, but Sanders’ campaign plans to ask for a “partial” recanvas of specific precincts.
Iowa Democratic Party chairman Troy Price issued another public apology during a news conference late Friday afternoon.
“As I’ve stated before, the challenges in reporting data and delays in publicizing results were categorically unacceptable,” Price said. “Iowa Democrats demand better of us and, quite frankly, we demand better of ourselves.”
By midday Saturday, precinct chairs and presidential campaigns asked Iowa Democratic Party officials to review the results of 95 precincts. By Sunday evening, the party announced revised results in 55 precincts. Results from another 36 precincts could not be altered, according to Price, even though there were errors in delegate calculations.
“The math worksheet is actually a legal document. It’s signed by the precinct chair and the precinct captains — the campaign representatives in those precincts — and so we are not allowed to change that,” Price said. “We have to report out what is reported to us.”
The chairman of the Democratic National Committee said on CNN this weekend he is “mad as hell” and there will be a conversation about the November election about whether Iowa’s Caucuses retain their first-in-the-nation status.
“Listen, conversations happen every four years about Iowa’s role in this process,” Price said. “Right now we’re focused on finalizing the results.”
With Sanders’ request for a recanvas, it’s likely the results of Tuesday’s New Hampshire Primary will be final before last Monday’s Caucus results are final. Sanders, during an interview on CNN Sunday, said the Iowa Democratic Party exhibited extraordinary incompetence. Sanders said the situation is a disgrace to Iowans who take the caucuses seriously.