The Iowa Democratic Party announced the release of 100 percent of the state caucus results Thursday night, showing Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders neck and neck in their lead over the rest of the Democratic candidates. The results could change as more data is examined, and NBC has not called a winner in the race.
The Iowa Democrats' announcement comes after Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez called on state party officials to recanvass the results of Monday's caucuses amid growing concerns about their accuracy (see NBC News' review of the results).
Caucusgoers gathered at nearly 1,700 sites across Iowa on Monday night to tally support for their preferred candidates only for the count to be thrown into disarray when what Iowa Democrats called "inconsistencies" delayed the reporting of results.
The state has 41 pledged delegates up for grabs, and the high-stakes contest traditionally plays a major role in determining who is a legitimate contender in the race. Candidates in the crowded Democratic field needed to meet a threshold of support (at least 15 percent of attendees at most caucus sites) to become viable, or they saw supporters move on to someone else.
Highlights from the Iowa caucuses
- An NBC News review of the Iowa caucus vote finds the results are rife with potential errors, inconsistencies.
- DNC Chair Perez calls for recanvassing results amid growing concerns about their accuracy.
- Buttigieg, Sanders are neck and neck with nearly all the votes reported.
- Iowa caucus app was rushed and flawed from the beginning, experts say.
- Here's why more than one candidate can declare victory.
- Caucus chaos sparks fresh calls for an end to Iowa's leadoff status.
- Where to find Iowa race results.
Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts on the latest news.
Biden makes staffing changes after 'punch in the gut' poor showing in Iowa
Joe Biden has tapped a senior aide to take on an "expanded role" in the day-to-day operations of his campaign, the first tangible shift in strategy for the one-time national frontrunner since a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.
The announcement came in an email to staff on Thursday night from campaign manager Greg Schultz and chairman Steve Ricchetti, in which they also acknowledged some staff-level departures after the Iowa "punch in the gut" coupled with new hires and an eye toward Super Tuesday on March 3.
Dunn had already been playing a key role at the highest levels of the Biden operation, primarily focused on communications strategy and debate prep. The internal email, which was first reported by The New York Times, said she now "will be working closely with us on campaign strategy and overall coordination on budget and personnel as we build a bigger campaign for the next phase."
FIRST READ: What stands out after Iowa is Bernie Sanders' limited crossover appeal
Yes, Bernie Sanders could very well end up being the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination — if he wins New Hampshire and Nevada.
And especially if Pete Buttigieg/Joe Biden/Michael Bloomberg split up the vote in the party’s moderate lane beginning on Super Tuesday.
But now that the dust — or more accurately, all the mess — has settled after Iowa, it becomes clear that Sanders only had an “ok” night in the Hawkeye State.
He might have met expectations, but he certainly didn’t exceed them. Turnout was lower than expected. And the entrance poll showed him with limited crossover appeal outside of his young, very liberal base.
NBC News review of Iowa caucus vote finds potential errors, inconsistencies
The Iowa Democratic caucus results are rife with potential errors and inconsistencies that could affect the outcome of the election, according to a review by the NBC News Decision Desk.
The apparent mistakes — spotted in at least dozens of the state's 1,711 precincts — call into question the accuracy of the outcome of Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus, which was held on Monday night.
In some individual precincts, it may be possible to fix the errors; in other precincts, it will probably be impossible to determine how voters truly made their choices.
The potential errors and inconsistencies take on importance because of the closeness of the contest between the two front-runners — former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Yang fires dozens of Iowa staff
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang's campaign is letting go of "dozens" of staff in Iowa, including its national political and policy directors, the campaign confirmed to NBC News.
“As part of our original plans following the Iowa caucuses, we are winding down our Iowa operations and restructuring to compete as the New Hampshire primary approaches," campaign manager Zach Graumann said in a statement.
Graumann called the firings "a natural evolution of the campaign post-Iowa, same as other campaigns have undertaken."
Yang "is going to keep fighting for the voices of the more than 400,000 supporters who have donated to the campaign and placed a stake in the future of our country,” Graumann said.
Politico first reported the dismissals.
With the majority of the results reported by the Iowa Democratic Party, Yang appears to have finished sixth in Iowa, with about 1 percent of state delegate equivalents.
Sanders, Buttigieg declare themselves Iowa winners
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday declared a "very strong victory" in Iowa's caucuses, days after the state's botched process delayed the release of results.
"What I wanna do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us for the caucuses Monday night," Sanders said.
Sanders acknowledged he was disappointed to be making the declaration to reporters at a campaign office in a strip mall in New Hampshire, instead of to voters in Iowa, but suggested that it was the right move compared to rival Pete Buttigieg, who made his own declaration of victory in Iowa on Monday night, before any results had been released.
Buttigieg was triumphant when he addressed supporters Monday before any official results were released and continued to claim victory through the week.
At a New York fundraiser on Wednesday, Buttigieg continued to tout an Iowa win.
"There is just no question that Monday in Iowa represents an astonishing victory for our vision, for our candidacy and for this country," he said, hailing the contest as a demonstration of his ability to win across rural, suburban and urban areas, as well as places that had previously voted for Donald Trump.
2020 candidates react to Iowa caucus recanvassing
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told reporters on Thursday that he is not concerned about the DNC calling for a recanvass of votes after a confusing, protracted Iowa caucus underscored by "inconsistencies" found in election data.
“We won an 8-person election by some 6,000 votes," Sanders said after hearing DNC chair Tom Perez calling for the recanvass. "That is not going to change.”
As of Thursday, Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had his lead over Sanders narrowed with 97 percent of the caucus vote released. Though the Iowa Democratic caucus results are not actual votes cast and the percentages released are known as state delegate equivalents, or SDEs - calculated through an algorithm - Sanders lead Buttigieg in raw vote totals.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., supported the decision. She told NBC News on Thursday that "you have to make sure that every single vote was counted."
"Sometimes in caucuses things can be close," she said. "You have to go back in and figure it out."
A recanvass is essentially a double-checking of the vote through a hand audit of caucus worksheets and reporting forms to verify calculations.
DNC chair calls for Iowa to recanvass caucus vote, says 'enough is enough'
Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez is calling on Iowa Democratic officials to immediately recanvass Monday's caucus vote after days of uncertainty and growing concerns about the accuracy of the results.
"Enough is enough," Perez said in a tweet. "In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass."
Pete Buttigieg was clinging to the narrowest of leads in Iowa over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Thursday, with 97 percent of the caucus vote released.
Some Iowa results have been in the mail
Iowa Democrats have been delayed in reporting 100 percent of the results of Monday night's caucuses because some precinct chairs mailed in their worksheets Tuesday morning, and a small number of packets have been in the mail, according to a participant in a Democratic conference call Wednesday night and an Iowa Democratic official familiar with what was discussed.
Troy Price, the Iowa Democratic Party chairman, told participants on the call that the party's call center was overwhelmed with call volume and that the Democratic National Committee offered assistance with their own call center, the sources also said.
A more combative Biden works to stave off collapse after Iowa letdown
NASHUA, N.H. — Iowa may have been a “gut punch” for Joe Biden, but the next two states could deliver a knockout blow to his presidential bid if he doesn’t deliver a better performance.
The former vice president has grown more combative with his main Democratic rivals this week in an attempt to shore up his support in primaries in New Hampshire and Nevada, where victory is far from assured. Going 0 for 3 would risk shattering the front-runner status Biden has held nationally, and raise questions about his unique “electability” against President Donald Trump — the central argument of his candidacy.
And so on Wednesday, Biden ripped into Pete Buttigieg as “a risk” due to his inexperience, and blasted Bernie Sanders’ “democratic socialist” label as lacking viability in a general election. "Donald Trump is desperate to pin the label of ‘socialist’ on our party. We can’t let him do that," Biden told voters at a campaign event in New Hampshire this week.
Buttigieg responds to Iowa voter who pulled her support after realizing he's gay
Pete Buttigeig on Wednesday praised a campaign volunteer who responded to an Iowa caucusgoer's decision to rescind her support after learning that Buttigieg is in same-sex marriage, saying he was proud that the volunteer had spoke to the woman "with respect."
MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle asked the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, about a viral video of the encounter.
“How real is that? How big of an issue is that for you?” Ruhle asked.
Buttigieg, who has been married to Chasten Buttigieg since 2018, said he “felt proud of our organizer volunteer,” precinct captain Nikki van den Heever, “who on my behalf was speaking to her and speaking to her with respect.”
A more combative Biden works to stave off collapse after Iowa letdown
Iowa may have been a “gut punch” for Joe Biden, but the next two states could deliver a knockout blow to his presidential bid if he doesn’t deliver a better performance.
The former vice president has grown more combative with his main Democratic rivals this week in an attempt to shore up his support in New Hampshire and Nevada, where victory is far from assured. Going 0 for 3 would risk shattering the front-runner status Biden has held nationally, and raise questions about his unique “electability” against President Donald Trump — the central argument for his candidacy.
And so on Wednesday, Biden ripped into Pete Buttigieg as “a risk” due to his inexperience, and blasted Bernie Sanders’ “democratic socialist” label as lacking viability in a general election. "Donald Trump is desperate to pin the label of ‘socialist’ on our party. We can’t let him do that," he told voters in New Hampshire.
Buttigieg, Sanders neck and neck in Iowa with nearly all votes reported
Pete Buttigieg was clinging to the narrowest of leads in Iowa over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Thursday, with 97 percent of the caucus vote released.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was at 26.2 percent and Sanders had 26 percent, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren running behind at 18.2 percent. Former Vice President Joe Biden had 15.8 percent, Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 12.2 percent and other candidates were in low single digits.
Iowa Democratic caucus results are not actual votes cast. The percentages, based on partial returns of the estimated number of state convention delegates won by each candidate through the caucus process, are known as state delegate equivalents, or SDEs.
The totals were put out by the Iowa Democratic Party over the past two days after chaos over the caucuses on Monday night. More data may be released on Thursday.
NBC News has not called a winner in the first-in-the-nation contest.
'Clog the lines': Iowa caucus hotline posted online with encouragement to disrupt results reporting
The phone number to report Iowa caucus results was posted on a fringe internet message board on Monday night along with encouragement to “clog the lines,” an indication that jammed phone lines that left some caucus managers on hold for hours may have in part been due to prank calls.
An Iowa Democratic Party official said the influx of calls to the reporting hotline included “supporters of President Trump who called to express their displeasure with the Democratic Party.” The party official’s comments were first reported late Wednesday by Bloomberg News.
Users on a politics-focused section of the fringe 4chan message board repeatedly posted the phone number for the Iowa Democratic Party, which was found by a simple Google search, both as screenshots and in plain text, alongside instructions.
"They have to call in the results now. Very long hold times being reported. Phone line being clogged," one user posted at about 11 p.m. ET on Monday, two hours after the caucuses began.
Buttigieg says 'just no question' Iowa a victory for his candidacy as lead narrows
Speaking at a fundraiser in New York on Wednesday night, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg continued to tout the results in Iowa, saying, “There is just no question that Monday in Iowa represents an astonishing victory for our vision, for our candidacy and for this country.”
Buttigieg hailed the results as a demonstration of his ability to win across rural, suburban and urban areas, as well as places that previously voted for President Donald Trump.
At the time Buttigieg made the remarks, 92 percent of Iowa precincts were reporting. With 97 percent now in, he retains only a slight lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Iowa Democrats say Trump supporters called into vote counting hotline, causing them more problems
An Iowa Democratic Party official told NBC News that as it experienced "an unusually high volume of inbound phone calls to its caucus hotline" after an app created to reported results had faltered Monday night, including from "supporters of President [Donald] Trump."
Iowa precinct chairs had to use that hotline to report vote tallies following mishaps with the app, but many were met with lengthy wait times in order to get through. That phone number was posted online, worsening the problem.
Trump supporters calling the hotline was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Iowa Democrats did not respond to NBC News' requests for information on how many individuals manned the phone lines Monday night. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"At the outset of boiler room operations on February 3rd, the Iowa Democratic Party experienced an unusually high volume of inbound phone calls to its caucus hotline," An Iowa Democratic Party official told NBC News.
"These included callers who would hang up immediately after being connected, supporters of President Trump who called to express their displeasure with the Democratic Party, and Iowans looking to confirm details for their evening’s caucus."
"Party staff and volunteers flagged and subsequently blocked repeat callers who appeared to be reaching out in an attempt to interfere with their reporting duties," the party official continued. "Veterans of past boiler room operations described the volume of calls as highly irregular compared to previous caucuses. The unexplained, and at times hostile, calls contributed to the delay in the Iowa Democratic Party’s collection of results, but in no way affected the integrity of information gathered or the accuracy of data sets reported."
Buttigieg's slim lead narrows with 97 percent reporting
Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg's slim lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., narrowed early Thursday, according to the latest Iowa caucus results.
The candidates remain in the same positions with 97 percent of results reported — 1,711 out of 1,765 precincts. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is in third place, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Buttigieg's narrow lead holds with 92 percent reporting
Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg continues to lead Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the latest batch of Iowa results, which was released by the state Democratic Party late Wednesday.
With 92 percent of the results reported, the candidates remain in the same positions. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is in the third place, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Iowa caucus app was rushed and flawed from the beginning, experts say
The smartphone app that caused a significant delay in reporting Iowa caucuses results suffered from technical and design flaws, and appeared to have been rushed into use, according to cybersecurity experts who examined a version of the app that was made public.
The app became the subject of widespread scrutiny after the Iowa Democratic Party said problems with reporting caucus results were partially due to “coding issues” with the app, which was being used for the first time.
Developers who were able to look at a version of the app that was made public said it suffered from two problems.
Corrected batch of results narrows Buttigieg's lead over Sanders
The corrected batch of Iowa caucus results released by the state Democratic Party on Wednesday night slightly narrowed former Mayor Pete Buttigieg's lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
With 86 percent of the results now reported, the candidates remain in the same positions, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in the third spot, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden in fourth and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in fifth.
Iowa Dems to make 'minor correction' to last update, drawing ire of Sanders' camp
Still no change in candidates' positions with 85 percent of results reported
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg remained in the lead in the Iowa caucus results after the state Democratic Party on Wednesday afternoon released its second update of the day.
With 85 percent of the results now reported, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., remained in second place, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
The candidates' positions have remained the same since the state Democratic Party released initial results on Tuesday.
After Iowa 'gut punch,' Biden sharpens criticism of Sanders and Buttigieg
After taking what he called a “gut punch” in the Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden is taking a new approach in the final days leading up to the New Hampshire primary, calling out his opponents directly to argue that they are unqualified to be the Democratic nominee.
Biden unloaded on Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg at a rally here Wednesday in an effort to forcefully provide a reality check for voters by contrasting his electability and experience argument to the two Iowa caucus frontrunners.
Even though Biden has downplayed an apparent fourth place finish in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, his agitation for his loss has been on display since arriving in New Hampshire Tuesday, where he first began to directly call out Sanders by name.
But on Wednesday he went further than just criticizing Sanders’ Medicare-for-All position, pointing at the fact that vulnerable Democratic down-ballot candidates in red and blue states alike would have to defend Sanders’ far-reaching ideas, many of which Democrats have expressed skepticism about supporting.
Why the results are taking so long to tally
An Iowa Democratic aide says staff is literally examining the photo or paper records that have been collected and matching it against the inputted responses, which “obviously takes time.”
This has to be done for all three sets of data: initial preference, reallocated preference and the state delegate equivalents.
The state Democratic Party is expected to release more results Wednesday afternoon.
Latest numbers from Iowa show no change in candidates' positions
The Iowa Democratic Party released an update on the results of caucuses Wednesday afternoon, but the additional numbers show no change in the candidates' positions.
With 75 percent of the results now reported, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg retains a narrow lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., while Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., remains in third place, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Those positions have remained the same since the state Democratic Party released initial results and an update on Tuesday.
Biden goes after Sanders, Buttigieg
Joe Biden threw down against Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg post-Iowa, pointing out to supporters in New Hampshire that one candidate is a self-described "democratic socialist" and the other was the mayor of a small Midwestern city.
If Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, were to become the Democratic nominee, Biden said that "every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states ... in easy districts, in competitive ones, every Democrat will have to carry the label Sen. Sanders has chosen for himself."
"He calls him — and I don't criticize him — he calls himself a democratic socialist," Biden continued. "Well, we are already seeing what Donald Trump is going to do with that. So when Sanders attacks me for having baggage, I have to tell you the 60-plus candidates that I campaigned for in the toughest districts in the country just two years ago don't see me as baggage. They wanted me in their districts."
"I doubt whether if many people ask Bernie Sanders to come in and campaign," Biden added. "He's a good man. But he labeled himself."
Biden then went after Buttigieg, noting that the former mayor of South Bend, Inidana, calls Biden "part of the old, failed Washington."
"Well, really? Was it a failure when I went to Congress to get Obamacare passed into law?" Biden asked. "Was it a failure when I got passed the implementation of the Recovery Act to prevent an economic collapse, another Great Depression? Was it a failure when I worked to get the Iran nuclear deal done? Was it a failure with the Paris climate accord, the Violence Against Women Act, the chemical weapons treaty, the Brady Bill, the ban on assault weapons? Was it a failure?
"Is he really saying that the Obama-Biden administration was a failure?" Biden continued. "Pete, just say it out loud. I have great respect for Mayor Pete and his service to this nation, but I do believe it's a risk, to be just straight up with you, for this party to nominate someone who has never held an office higher than mayor of a town of a 100,000 people in Indiana. I do believe it's a risk."
Iowa Dems releasing more results Wednesday afternoon
More results out of Iowa will be released in the early afternoon, per a Democratic Party official.
"As always, the IDP's focus is on the integrity of the results, including verifying the results with the paper trail. In some cases, that means literally examining a photo or physical document to match it against the inputted responses.
Caucus IDP organizing staff fanned out across the state to connect with precinct leadership and collect any outstanding documentation. IDP designed this system to more efficiently collect the paper records this cycle. The overwhelming majority of these documents have now been collected. Per IDP rules, these documents are stored offsite through a secure chain of custody."
Biden addresses Iowa loss: 'We took a gut punch'
Biden addressed supporters in New Hampshire on Wednesday, his only campaign event of the day before a prime-time televised town hall.
"I am not going to sugarcoat it. We took a gut punch in Iowa, the whole process took a gut punch. But look, this isn't the first time in my life I've been knocked down," he said.
"I'm going to fight for this nomination, and I'm going to fight for it here in New Hampshire and in Nevada and then South Carolina and beyond, because I know there are an awful lot of folks out there who are writing off this campaign," he added. "But I'll tell you what — they've been trying to do that from the moment I entered the race. Well, I got news for them. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere. I'm counting on New Hampshire. We are going to come back."
Iowa caucusgoer pulls Buttigieg vote after learning he's gay, viral video shows
The Time magazine cover photo didn’t do it. Nor did the March appearance on ABC’s “The View” or a year’s worth of digital and television news stories.
It was not until Monday night — after casting her caucus vote for presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg — that an Iowa Democratic caucus voter, known only as “Geert,” first learned that the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is gay and married a man in 2018.
“Are you saying he has a same-sex partner?” the woman asked in a now viral video that has garnered almost 3 million views on Twitter. “Are you kidding?”
A person nearby confirmed that information, saying “He’s married to him, yeah,” referring to Chasten Buttigieg.
“Then I don’t want anybody like that in the White House,” the shocked caucusgoer said. “So, can I have my card back?”
Nikki van den Heever, a Buttigieg campaign precinct captain, made an effort to appeal to the voter, who was otherwise unidentified in the video.
“The whole point of it is, though, he’s a human being, right? Just like you and me, and it shouldn’t really matter,” she said.
Read more about the viral exchange here and watch below:
Biden downplays potential Iowa loss, pivots to next early states
CONCORD, N.H. — Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday downplayed his potential fourth place loss in the Iowa Caucus by pointing out that there are three early primary states left in the cycle that he could still win.
Campaigning in New Hampshire, which is just days away from holding the first primary of the Democratic race, Biden said that while he wants “to do well in Iowa,” the first four states are an essential part of winning the nomination.
“I count to four. The first four are the key,” he said to reporters. “Two caucuses and two primaries. And so we'll see.”
In the final days leading up to Iowa, Biden told caucus-goers that they do not necessarily pick the nominee but instead have the power to open the gate to several candidates in an effort to narrow the field.
Looking ahead to New Hampshire, Biden asked voters gathered in the state capital to get him through to the next round since they “set the tone for the whole, whole rest of the race.”
Biden was succinct at the event, pointing out later to reporters that the full results of Iowa aren’t in yet —especially in rural counties that he courted heavily.
“At this rate, New Hampshire may get the first vote after all,” Biden told the audience of roughly 175 people. “I’d like you to rocket me out of here to make sure this thing works, OK?”
Biden also told reporters that he would not contest the results of the Iowa caucus, and pointed out that his campaign will wait until all of the results go public.
On topics other than the caucus debacle, Biden ticked through his qualifications that make him deserving of the presidency.
Biden also took direct swipes at Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his "Medicare for All" plan, suggesting that Sanders has flipped on explaining funding for his plans and addressed his own health care plans.
“I'm not suggesting that those who are for Medicare for All are playing with people, but … you've got to be able to get something done,” Biden said. “Who's going to support a plan that doesn't specify how much it costs or say how he's going to pay for it?”
Biden then promised voters that if such a plan were to pass, “the middle class is going to pay a big, big premium.”
Warren touts ties to Obama in new ad
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is highlighting her relationship with former President Barack Obama in a new digital ad out today, targeting New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina voters.
The new ad — reported first by NBC News — comes as Joe Biden, Obama's vice president, falters in Iowa, and on the same day that Michael Bloomberg also debuted an ad featuring his work with Obama.
The ad, titled "Elizabeth understands,” begins with a 2010 Rose Garden address, where Obama lauds Warren for her work fighting for the middle class.
“She’s a janitor’s daughter who has become one of the country’s fiercest advocates for the middle class,” Obama says at the top, his voice present throughout the ad. “She came up with an idea for a new, independent agency standing up for consumers and middle-class families.”
On the campaign trail, Warren often ends her town halls telling audiences about her time fighting to build the Consumer Protection Finance Bureau during the Obama administration, a message that ties into an overall theme in her campaign: She’s a fighter.
The ad also touches on that message, too, with a line from Obama, referring to the uphill battle Warren faced while trying to start the consumer bureau.
“She’s done it while facing some very tough opposition. Fortunately, she’s very tough,” he said.
Warren: 'Our democracy hangs in the balance'
Klobuchar: 'Whenever people get to know me, I do well'
When asked about the partial Iowa results, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told reporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday night that she does well when "people get to know me."
Asked about Pete Buttigieg claiming victory before any of the results were released, Klobuchar said, “He has raised money, and that is true. But at some point, when you look at the big money that's going on from some of these candidates, people are going to be tuning in, they're going to be watching the debates, they're going to be getting to know the candidates, and whenever people get to know me, I do well.”
Asked for her thoughts on the irregularities in determining the caucus results, Klobuchar said she doesn’t blame the Iowa Democratic Party “for trying to be really careful,” and added, “I don't think there's any kind of trickery going on. I think that it was just a mess-up with the system. I know they've apologized, and hopefully we will get the results by tomorrow.”
She also said she was proud of her team's efforts leading up to the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
“I know that we are still getting the results in from Iowa,” she said in starting off her remarks. "But I am so proud of the work that our team did. As I've said from the beginning, I announced in the middle of a blizzard, and a lot of people didn't even predict that I could get through the announcement. I knew New Hampshire would understand.”
FIRST READ: The takeaway from Iowa: Buttigieg, Sanders won their respective ideological lanes
Now that there are finally results to count from Iowa after the App-ocalypse that rocked the Hawkeye State, the biggest takeaway is how Pete Buttigieg emerged as the winner from the Democrats’ moderate/pragmatic lane, easily besting Joe Biden.
And how Bernie Sanders walked away from Iowa owning the liberal lane.
Looking at the entrance poll, Buttigieg tied Biden among moderates, who made up 30 percent of all caucus-goers, with Amy Klobuchar coming in right behind them.
But what made Buttigieg’s showing so strong is that he also carried the “somewhat liberals” in Iowa — who made up a great share, 42 percent — followed by Sanders, Biden and Elizabeth Warren.
Biden camp 'not surprised and not deterred' by Iowa
Joe Biden's campaign is "not surprised and not deterred” by the partial results in Iowa, a campaign aide said Tuesday, adding that many more Democrats will soon be able to weigh as state contests continue.
Biden is “holding strong” in New Hampshire against two senators from neighboring states and sees opportunity ahead in Nevada, South Carolina and Super Tuesday, contests that are more reflective of the country’s diversity, the aide said.
Putting the partial Iowa results in context, the campaign always expected a close race there, and the difference in delegates between Biden and other candidates is likely to be no bigger than what is at stake in two congressional districts on Super Tuesday, the aide said.
The Biden campaign also noted that other campaigns have raised issues with how the Iowa caucuses were run and how results were collected and reported, and it continues to believe the Iowa Democratic Party owes candidates a fuller accounting for the outcome.
Buttigieg tells N.H. crowd 'something extraordinary' happened
At his final event of the day on Tuesday, Pete Buttigieg told hundreds of supporters at the Concord City Auditorium in Concord, New Hampshire, that he was 'humbled' by the 'extraordinary' results in Iowa and explained that he knew how well he had done because his campaign was able to track some of the returns.
"I haven't had a lot of sleep in the last 48 hours but I'm having a very good day," the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor said to applause. "We are having a very good day. And we have a lot of work to do so I'm here humbled by good news that's come over the airwaves today."
"But now we have got to earn a victory one week from today in New Hampshire, and I believe you're going to help us do just that," he added.
When asked when he knew he had secured a “victory” in Iowa, Buttigieg said that because caucuses happen in the open, his team was able to track the results as they came in.
"And what we saw told us that, even as we're getting the final math figured out and waiting for ... those verified results, that something extraordinary had happened, that this campaign that a lot of folks thought shouldn't even be there had taken its place in the very front ranks of this process."
“Now, let me say that we're still waiting on more math to come through,” he added. “But what we know without any doubt is that our vision has been validated, and that this is an astonishing victory for our organization, our values, our campaign, and our candidacy.”
Sanders says he's 'very proud' of Iowa results
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night touted the partial results from the Iowa caucuses, telling supporters at a rally in New Hampshire that he was "very proud" to tell them he had "received more votes on the first and second round than any other candidate.”
"For some reason in Iowa, they're having a little bit of trouble counting votes," Sanders said in his first public event since the Iowa caucuses. "But I am confident that here in New Hampshire, I know they'll be able to count your votes on election night. And when you count those votes, I look forward to winning here in New Hampshire.”
Partial returns show the Vermont senator and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at the front of the pack of Democratic candidates, with 27 percent and 25 percent respectively. The percentages, based on partial returns of the number of state convention delegates won by each candidate through the caucus process, are known as state delegate equivalents, or SDEs, and is the traditional result reported by the state Democratic Party.
This year, however, Iowa Democrats also chose to release two other sets of results, what NBC News' elections unit is calling initial preference and reallocated preference — part of a rules change to increase transparency into the process. In those two sets of results, Sanders appears to lead.
Read more about that here.
Weld: 'Despite the formidable obstacle, we came in second'
Iowa Democrats release more results
The Iowa Democratic Party on Tuesday night released more results from Monday's caucuses, but the latest numbers don't change the positions of the candidates and remain inconclusive.
With about 71 percent of results from all 99 of Iowa's counties now released, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are still at the front of the pack, with about 27 percent and 25 percent, respectively, according to the partial results.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has about 18 percent, former Vice President Joe Biden about 15.5 percent, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., nearly 13 percent, the results say.
Why more than one candidate could declare victory in Iowa
After significant delays, the Iowa Democratic Party on Tuesday began releasing the results of the caucuses the day before — a move that could cause more confusion thanks to the state party's decision to report three sets of results all at once.
The first set of results show, based the partial returns, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., vying for first place, with 27 percent and 25 percent respectively.
The percentages, based on partial returns of the number of state convention delegates won by each candidate through the caucus process, are known as state delegate equivalents, or SDEs. Traditionally, this result has been the only one reported by the state party, and it's how NBC News will eventually declare a winner in Iowa.
But this year, the Iowa Democratic Party chose to release two other sets of results, what NBC News' elections unit is calling initial preference and reallocated preference — part of a rules change to increase transparency into the process.
In those two sets of results, Sanders appears to lead.
Biden to N.H. supporters: 'I'd like you to rocket me out of here'
Speaking in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, former Vice President Joe Biden said he needs supporters in the state to launch him ahead has he goes into Nevada and South Carolina.
"And I'm counting on you to make sure you send me off in a way that — there's nothing to come back from yet, but I'd like you to rocket me out of here to make sure this thing works, okay?" Biden said.
"Because if I come out of here well, you guys are gonna set the tone for the whole, whole rest of the race. And it's time for New Hampshire to speak, and I'm looking forward to make my case all across the state until Tuesday."
Biden began his remarks with a comment on the counting problems in Iowa, saying, "You know, 24 hours later they're still trying to figure out what the heck happened in Iowa. At this rate, New Hampshire might get the first vote after all."
ANALYSIS: The Iowa caucuses' muddled vote count was a debacle, but not for Joe Biden
Last spring, the dean of Iowa political journalists, David Yepsen, presciently warned the Cook Political Report that the Iowa Democratic Party's new caucus bells and whistles — four different measurements of results, satellite caucus sites and a new reporting system — could make for a nightmare in reporting results.
On Monday, after his prediction came true and the party was unable provide any results on Election Night, Yepsen was even more morose: "RIP caucuses. And after the GOP fiasco of 2012, Iowa probably shouldn't even try."
But the real danger for Democrats goes beyond one state party's reputation. It's that the chaotic count and the muddled result could presage a messy, protracted primary slog that could go all the way to the Milwaukee convention in July and imperil party unity heading into the fall.
With results from 71 percent of precincts reported by the state party as of 1:15 a.m. ET Wednesday, it's possible — even likely — that Pete Buttigieg will have won a narrow plurality of state delegate equivalents and that Bernie Sanders will have won a plurality of caucusgoers' first preferences. At first glance, the biggest loser would seem to be Joe Biden, currently in fourth place. But the media spotlight on the tallying debacle and the muddled finish at the top — rather than Biden's finish itself — may be welcome news for the former vice president.
Perez: Iowa results app 'will not be used in Nevada or anywhere else'
Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said Tuesday that the app used to tally results in Iowa's caucuses "will not be used in Nevada or anywhere else" during the primary.
"What happened last night should never happen again," Perez said in a statement. "We have staff working around the clock to assist the Iowa Democratic Party to ensure that all votes are counted. It is clear that the app in question did not function adequately. It will not be used in Nevada or anywhere else during the primary election process. The technology vendor must provide absolute transparent accounting of what went wrong."
“Our immediate goal is to ensure that every vote is counted as quickly as possible," Perez added. "Accuracy is our guidepost."
Buttigieg: Iowa showing 'one more proof point for the possibility of American belonging'
Buttigieg said Tuesday that Iowans on Monday night "talked about where they wanted this country to go and in astonishingly encouraging numbers supported the vision of this campaign."
Speaking about the delayed early results, the former mayor added that he wished "they had come in sooner since this is the best piece of news I think our campaign's gotten since I entered this race. But I also hope that we recognize that this is a set of numbers and a set of choices made by individual Iowans that has verified, that has a paper trail behind it, and that shows just what is possible for a campaign that started with nothing and built up over the course of the year with a message, a team, and a vision for where we need to go that clearly drew a lot of people in."
Asked what advice he would give to children "looking for that same sense of belonging who were in your shoes when you were their age," Buttigieg said, "That it gets better and to believe in what's possible in this country. To believe in yourself.
"Not that it'll be easy," he said. "Our country has so many patterns of exclusion that takes so many different forms, but that's exactly what this campaign is about — that we can trade that exclusion for a sense of belonging, and I want everybody to feel one more proof point for the possibility of American belonging after seeing yesterday's results."
Warren claims 'strong position' in stretch to Super Tuesday
Sanders campaign touts partial results
Sen. Bernie Sanders' senior campaign adviser Jeff Weaver said Tuesday that the campaign is "gratified that in the partial data released so far, it’s clear that in the first and second round more people voted for Bernie than any other candidate in the field.”
Buttigieg: Results validate 'for a kid ... wondering if he or she belongs' to believe in self and country
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg celebrated the early Iowa results in remarks to supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday, saying that while they don't know the final numbers, "we do know this much: A campaign that started a year ago with four staff members, no name recognition, no money, just a big idea, a campaign that some said should have no business even making this attempt has taken its place at the front of this race to replace the current president with a better vision for America."
He added that the showing "validates the idea that we can expand a coalition not only unified around who it is we are against but what it is we are for. And it validates for a kid somewhere in a community, wondering if he or she belongs or they belong in their own family, that if you believe in yourself and your country there's a lot backing up that belief."
Buttigieg didn't get much sleep
Iowa Democrats release partial caucus results
The Iowa Democratic Party on Tuesday released partial results from Monday night’s caucuses after a lengthy delay caused by a “coding issue” with an app used to report the data.
The partial results, which are from each of the state’s 99 counties but are inconclusive, show Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders at the front of the pack, although those positions may not hold when all the votes are eventually counted. The results also show former Vice President Joe Biden, the national front-runner, trailing the Iowa leaders.
The data release comes after a storm of criticism from the campaigns about how the party conducted the caucus process.
Bennet campaign, in memo to supporters, seeks to 'capitalize on the chaos'
Sen. Michael Bennet’s presidential campaign manager Daniel Barash is releasing a memo to supporters on the campaign’s goal to exceed expectations and surge in the New Hampshire primary Feb. 11.
“While chaos emerged in Iowa last night, Michael was in New Hampshire holding a town hall and talking to voters,” Barash writes. “It goes without saying, the events of last night validated our New Hampshire-first approach.”
The memo details “strategic goals” to increase awareness of the campaign, build momentum, and “capitalize on the chaos in Iowa,” saying they need more resources and capacity to do it all.
“The number one way to ensure more voters learn about Michael and his vision for the country is through paid advertising,” Barash writes before soliciting contributions from supporters.
Disarray in Iowa raises N.H. stakes and reshapes Democratic contest
A lingering fog of uncertainty over the results of the year's first presidential nominating contest raised the stakes for the Democratic contenders as they descended on the Granite State ahead of the second.
The chaos seemed poised to deny the strongest Iowa finishers at least a share of potential momentum — and provide at least a temporary respite for underperformers.
As some declared victory in Iowa hours before the announcement of any vote counts, national Democratic front-runner Joe Biden's campaign preemptively questioned the integrity of the results — highlighting the risk the outcome in Iowa may pose to the former vice president's carefully-cultivated "electability" advantage ahead of New Hampshire's Feb. 11 primary.
Pete Buttigieg and his campaign continued to claim victory Tuesday, long before any results were due for public release.
Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign released internal caucus results based on data from 60 percent of Iowa precincts, ahead of Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with Biden in a distant fourth place — but sounded less thrilled with the outcome than Buttigieg.
Meanwhile, Warren, D-Mass., told voters at a town hall in Keene, New Hampshire, on Tuesday morning that she was in "a tight three-way race at the top" with Sanders and Buttigieg.
Biden 'happy' to head to New Hampshire
Hours after arriving in the first-in-the-nation primary state, former Vice President Joe Biden sounded relieved to be out of Iowa amid the uncertainty of the caucus results.
“Folks, it really is, and I really mean it, you have no idea how happy we were to be heading to New Hampshire and Nashua,” Biden said in between laughs.
Although he joked about how quickly he got out of Iowa, Biden said he believed the campaign “had a good night” in the Hawkeye State. He told the roughly 150 people gathered in a Nashua gym that he believes the campaign will get a “fair share” of delegates even though he doesn’t “know precisely” how that breakdown would be.
Biden cautioned against drawing any final conclusions about the night and subtly spoke out against his opponents who immediately declared victory without results.
“But, you know, be careful what you say because it’s not done yet,” Biden said at the top of his remarks. “I'm not being critical. Let's give [the Iowa Democratic Party] time to work out those issues carefully and diligently because a lot depends on it.”
Sen. Kaine: Iowa situation a 'tragic set of mistakes'
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee, called the situation in Iowa "a tragic, tragic set of mistakes."
"I mean, I just, I feel for the voters, I feel for the volunteers, I feel for these candidates, I feel for everybody who spent all this time paying attention to it," he added. "I mean I just can't imagine what's happened. Now what can learn from it, you've got to get the answer to what went wrong before you jump to a conclusion about what to learn from it. But it's a disaster."
Warren, Klobuchar, Bloomberg campaign managers talk delay's impact
'Wake-up call': Iowa caucus disinformation serves as warning about 2020 election
Tech companies and election officials spent the past three years working to address the vulnerabilities that allowed Russia to promote disinformation and sow political divisions ahead of the 2016 election.
On Tuesday night, though, it didn’t take foreign interference to highlight the persistent vulnerabilities around the 2020 election. Americans proved perfectly capable of spreading disinformation on their own.
“This might be a great wake-up call,” said Alex Stamos, the director of the Stanford Internet Observatory, former head of security at Facebook and an NBC cybersecurity analyst. “If it turns out that this disaster has very little long-term effect on the primary, it's a great demonstration of what could go wrong on election night.”
One day after Americans cast their first votes in the election cycle, conspiracy theories, delayed election results and political opportunism intermingled online to create what disinformation researchers warn could be a harbinger of a self-inflicted worst-case scenario for the 2020 election.
Ex-Obama campaign manager: 'Those that did poorly are not going to pay the price'
David Plouffe, a former campaign manager for Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, said Tuesday that the caucus results delay only adds to the questions about the Democratic process in Iowa, adding that the lack of results will affect the momentum of both the winning and losing candidates.
“I think there are already a lot of questions building about the caucuses," Plouffe told MSNBC. "Obviously I have personal experience with the caucuses, I was an Iowa Democratic employee. I think there’s a lot of positives to them, but it’s hard to argue now because we've had cycle after cycle where there are issues.”
Plouffe added, “I don’t know how materially it changes the race, but I do think those that did well in Iowa aren’t going to get the full measure, the momentum bounce, and Iowa's much more about momentum than delegates. And those that did poorly are not going to pay the price.”
Buttigieg still using v-word despite no official results
On the campaign trail Tuesday in New Hampshire, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg continued to use the v-word to describe his showing in Iowa on Monday — even though the Iowa Democratic Party won't be releasing any results for another couple of hours.
"We are still waiting on some math, but one thing we know is that we are arriving with the momentum in the 2020 presidential campaign right now, and we had a victorious night in Iowa that shocked the pundits and will compel us to victory."
On Monday, he was among several candidates to deliver victory-like speeches once it became clear the caucus results wouldn't materialize before the end of the night. The others included Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
Caucus chaos sparks fresh calls for an end to Iowa's leadoff status
WASHINGTON — Iowa Democrats woke up Tuesday worrying that they might have been first for the last time.
The Iowa Democratic Party’s inability to declare a caucus winner Monday night added fresh fuel to calls from Democrats in other states for the order of the primary process to be reconsidered, potentially leaving the future of Iowa's coveted first-in-the-nation status in greater jeopardy than ever before.
Although toying with the idea of reordering the presidential nominating calendar is a perennial political tradition, the voices this cycle arguing to strip Iowa of its kickoff slot were already louder and more impassioned, saying that the honored position on the calendar should go to a more diverse state — and one that did not adhere to the caucus system.
The chaos that began Monday night appeared to give ammunition to those critics.
Pence's chief of staff: 'If Democrats fumbled the football, that's not Iowa's fault'
Company behind Iowa results app expresses 'regret' over glitches
Warren on Iowa Dems' plan to release more than half of data: 'I just don't understand what that means'
Responding to the Iowa Democratic Party's announcement that it plans to release "more than 50 percent" of the caucus results late Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told NBC News "they ought to get it together and release all of the data."
"That's what we need," Warren, D-Mass., said. "They should get all of the data. We're doing what we can to help and are calling on the other campaigns to do the same."
"I just don't understand what that means to release half of the data.," Warren said.
Troy Price, the Iowa Democratic Party chairman, told the campaigns during a call on Tuesday that the party expects more than 50 percent of all results by 5 p.m. ET. Price gave no timeline on when full results would come, but assured the campaigns repeatedly that they “have a process in place.”
