As Monday turns into Tuesday, there are still no victor in Iowa. There weren’t even any official results. Yikes!
As the campaigns came to learn, the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) found “inconsistencies” in reporting the three sets of results it promised to deliver. The information was to come from precinct captains, who were to report it through a newly developed app.
As word of the confusion and chaos spread, the IDP held a conference call with the presidential campaigns in an effort to explain the issues with the reporting system. In another call with reporters at 2 a.m., state party Chairman Troy Price said he wanted to emphasize this is a “reporting issue, not a hack” and “this is why we have a paper trail.” The party said it was turning to other methods to collect results.
“In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate that all results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report,” the IDP said in a statement. “The underlying data and paper trail is sound and will simply take time to further report the results.”
But at least one campaign has said it wants more answers.
And while the Iowa Democratic Party said it is working to validate the results using photographs and a paper trail, candidates are already shifting their focus to the next contest: the New Hampshire primary on February 11.
“Democrats are stewing in a caucus mess of their own creation with the sloppiest train wreck in history. It would be natural for people to doubt the fairness of the process. And these are the people who want to run our entire health care system? Tonight President Trump posted a record performance in the well-run GOP Iowa caucuses with record turnout for an incumbent,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement.
GOP Congressman Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a staunch defender of Mr. Trump, used the confusion to take aim at Democrats’ policy positions.
“Folks—this is the party that wants to run your healthcare, control your employment, decide what kind of car you can drive, and more,” he tweeted.