Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jacob Jarvis

Iowa democrats urged to 'recanvass' results after Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders both declare caucus victory

Iowa Democrats have been urged to "recanvass" their caucus results amid confusion over who won between Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders.

The Iowa Democratic party announced that former South Bend mayor Mr Buttigieg had edged out Senator Sanders by around two state delegate equivalents - though both runners proclaimed victory.

Figures from the party equated to around a 0.09 per cent lead for Mr Buttigieg, after all precincts had declared.

This narrow call comes after a raft of issues with the count from Iowa, with the the party's results delayed for more than a day due to technical problems in a situation described as a "screw up" by Mr Sanders.

Bernie Sanders slammed the handling of Iowa caucuses (Getty Images)

A recanvass has been called for, though one has not been announced, and would mean local officials working to determine the result again, sifting through reporting forms and worksheets to check they were counted correctly.

Amid claims of inconsistencies in numbers, Tom Perez, chairman of the National Democratic Party, said such measures to recalculate the outcome were needed to "assure public confidence in results".

"Enough is enough," he tweeted.

"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."

In a statement, Iowa chairman Troy Price suggested he would only pursue a recanvass if one was requested by a campaign. No campaign has asked for such action as yet.

A recanvass is different to a recount, with the latter carried out through the court system as opposed to by the party - with all responsibility handed over.

After the results, Mr Buttigieg thanked supporters and spoke of the Democrats having "one shot" to defeat Donald Trump.

Pete Buttigieg takes a selfie with supporters (Getty Images)

Despite the latest numbers putting him second, Mr Sanders also expressed his happiness at having "won".

"We won in Iowa because of the unprecedented grassroots effort of our campaign," Mr Sanders wrote on twitter.

"We are well-positioned to win the Democratic nomination and defeat the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country."

The next vote will be held in New Hampshire, with candidates having swiftly turned their attention to rallying support there.

Campaigning in the ares, Mr Sanders called the Iowa Democratic Party's management of the caucuses a "screw up", which was "unfair" on candidates and supporters alike.

"We've got enough of Iowa," he said on Thuesday at a CNN town hall. "I think we should move onto New Hampshire."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.