DES MOINES, Iowa -- Oklahoma-born Sen. Elizabeth S. Warren (D-, Mass.) is counting on Friday’s New Hampshire debate to jumpstart her presidential campaign that placed third in the Iowa caucuses.
Warren finished behind former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The results were released in batches over the days following the caucuses.
Following issues with reporting over the days that followed, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez even called for the Iowa Democratic Party to “begin a recanvass” to ensure public confidence, he said in a Tweet
However, although the results faced a lengthy delay, many Iowans remained unfazed on caucus night by the way the Iowa Democratic Party handled their new way of reporting results.
“It seemed like it was all written down on paper anyways in the caucuses,” said Des Moines resident Bryce Moyer, 35. “We’ll find out when we find out. It’s a couple days before New Hampshire – so the results will come in and I know they’ll be positive.”
This year, the Iowa Democratic Party announced they would report the results of the first and final alignments of attendees at the caucuses for the first time – instead of just the candidate’s allocated delegates based on the results. According to a Tuesday night statement from the Iowa Democratic Party, the delay was due to “quality checks” and the fact that the party is reporting out three data sets for the first time.
Former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Rich Cordray was also in attendance at Warren’s rally. The bureau was created by Warren under former President Barack Obama, and Warren selected Cordray to be the bureau’s first director in 2010.
Cordray said he was not worried by the delay of the results, and that the issues with the reporting would not make him question the results’ validity.
“We saw the energy and enthusiasm today and all week while we were out here,” Cordray said. “Sometimes things take time.”
Many other attendees of Warren’s rally were also unaffected by the relative confusion around the reporting of results, and felt that even though they were delayed, they would still be accurate – especially since many of the caucus goers had seen records being kept on paper.
“I think that they’re just being extra careful. It’s a new system – checks and balances are always good,” said Des Moines resident Ashlee Miller, 32. “Do it the right way. I’m happy with it – we’ll find out when we find out.”
The candidates did not wait for results to unfold before moving on to New Hampshire, which is the next state to hold a primary on Feb. 11, with some candidates arriving the same night. Nevada will be the next state to hold a Democratic caucus on Feb. 22 – only time will tell how the reporting of those caucuses will compare to Iowa’s three-day saga.
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
