Hours after the polls in the first Democratic caucus of 2020 had closed in Iowa, the results remained unclear.
Democratic party officials said results would be delayed because of “quality control” issues, as some polling locations reported technical difficulties with the app intended for reporting results and the hotline meant to serve as a backup for that app. As the chaos unfolded, reaction poured in from both sides:
Republicans were quick to pounce.
Democrat party meltdown.
— Brad Parscale - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@parscale) February 4, 2020
They can’t even run a caucus and they want to run the government. 😳
No thank you.
Everyone’s really excited about the prospect of turning over our entire healthcare system do you guys... well done! 🤡🤡🤡 https://t.co/9GxviSWguL
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 4, 2020
Democrats were frustrated.
This is a total mess. I respect the people of Iowa, they’ve been great—but it’s become very clear that our democracy has been misserved by a broken system. #IACaucus
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) February 4, 2020
Many wondered what it would mean for the future …
David Plouffe on MSNBC: "We may be witnessing the last Iowa caucus."
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) February 4, 2020
… and questioned the competence of everyone involved.
I love how the Democratic establishment claims they've got the climate crisis under control and can't run the goddamn Iowa caucus
— Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) February 4, 2020
It might be helpful to have a President and government that understand technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen.
— Andrew Yang🧢 (@AndrewYang) February 4, 2020
Some found time for humor.
Are the caucuses viable?
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) February 4, 2020
The big question at the Iowa caucus tonight is have they tried turning it off and turning it on again?
— Paul Danahar (@pdanahar) February 4, 2020
Or wondered whether some candidates got a lucky break.
Thx to the counting dept of the Iowa Democratic Party we get to hear everyone’s stump speech again tonight...
— Mike Murphy (@murphymike) February 4, 2020
The complete fuck up allows Biden to send out this type of fundraising appeal even as other campaigns say he’s gonna finish fourth pic.twitter.com/mzabK9Wmqp
— Sam Stein (@samstein) February 4, 2020
And in the end, the former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg was one of many candidates to claim a successful night, offering what appeared to be an unintentional summation of the chaos:
Tonight, Iowa chose a new path. #IowaCaucuses
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 4, 2020
Pete Buttigieg: "Iowa, you have shocked the nation"
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) February 4, 2020
....he's not wrong pic.twitter.com/jvWHPP1PNL
