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Friday, March 29, 2024

'Enough is enough' - Dems calls for Iowa recanvass

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'Enough is enough' - Dems calls for Iowa recanvass
'Enough is enough' - Dems calls for Iowa recanvass

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez on Thursday called for a recanvass of the Iowa caucuses after an array of problems delayed results from the party’s first 2020 presidential nominating contest and created uncertainty about their accuracy.

Jonah Green reports.

“Enough is enough.” So said DNC Chairman Tom Perez on Thursday, as he called for a recanvass of the Iowa caucuses following days of delays and confusion.

The delay of Tuesday’s contest was due to technical errors with an app designed to report results, and then problems calling in the results by phone.

Iowa Democratic officials have since released the tallies in bits and pieces.

As of Thursday, 97% had been reported — and it found that Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders were neck in neck for first.

Despite trailing Buttigieg in delegates, Sanders, who received more votes, claimed victory on Thursday.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) REPORTER, SAYING: "Mayor Pete's been declaring a win for days now.

Why should people believe your victory speech over his?" SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) SEN.

BERNIE SANDERS, SAYING: "Because I got 6000 more votes.

And from where I come, when you get 6,000 more votes, that's generally regarded to be the winner." The most striking result was Joe Biden coming in fourth behind Elizabeth Warren, a dismal showing for the once-presumptive front-runner.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) JOE BIDEN, SAYING: “I am not going to sugarcoat it: We took a gut punch in Iowa.

The whole process was a gut punch.

But look, this isn't the first time I've been knocked down.” Compounding the problems out of Iowa, the New York Times on Thursday reported that more than 100 precincts reported results that were internally inconsistent, that were missing data or that were not possible under the caucus rules, casting further doubt on the count.

The Iowa Party has previously said photos of results and a paper trail would be used to ensure an accurate count.

The delay and confusion has blunted the momentum of the state's eventual winner, as Democrats look to find a suitable challenger to Donald Trump.

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