The primary marathon to nominate the Democrat to face Presidential Presidential President Donald Trump began Monday evening February 3 in Iowa, where Bernie Sanders was a favorite, but the evening turned to confusion.
After several hours, the local Democratic Party said it had to carry out "Qualitative checks" after discovering "Inconsistencies" in the statement of results. He said it would be released later Tuesday, enough time to manually verify the data.
"When the results are announced, I have a feeling that we are going to have a very, very good success here in Iowa", launched Bernie Sanders. "Today marks the beginning of the end for Donald Trump", he hammered.
"Due to the inability of the Iowa Democratic Party to publish results tonight", the senator’s campaign team released data on nearly 40% of the polling stations. According to these figures, Bernie Sanders gets 28.62% ahead of Pete Buttigieg (25.71%) and Elizabeth Warren (18.42%). Former Vice President Joe Biden is only fourth with 15.08%, which would represent a poor performance for the man who has been leading the polls nationwide for months.
Later that evening, the ex-mayor of South Bend (Indiana), Pete Buttigieg, also appeared to claim the victory: "According to all indications, we are advancing towards New Hampshire (location of the next primary, February 11) victorious. "
The Democratic Party has denied any cyberattacks or irregularities, while in the republican camp, some, like Donald Trump Junior, the president’s son, immediately accused democratic leaders of cheating.
" Long night "
"We know there are delays but we also know that we are beyond our expectations"launched Senator Amy Klobuchar, the first candidate to speak while the winner was not yet known. Like the other candidates, she was due to take a flight to New Hampshire, the second state to vote, on February 11.
"It will be a long night, but I am confident"also assured former vice president Joe Biden, predicting a vote " tight ". He called on the organizers to " be very carrefully " in the compilation of results.
Prior to the vote, Senator Sanders, narrowly beaten in that state by Hillary Clinton in 2016, led the polls in Iowa. He was counting on a victory to gain the upper hand over Joe Biden, who dominates the race at the national level. Next, in the voting intentions, Pete Buttigieg then Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, out of eleven candidates still in the running.
Iowa, a small rural state, snowy at this time of the year, has started the primary season since the 1970s. It is important because it is the first: the number of delegates at stake is negligible (these are delegates who will ultimately designate the candidate invested), but a good result or a poor performance can change the dynamics of a bid.
Because beyond the program divides between the left wing, represented by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and a more moderate current, carried by Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg or even Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic base hopes above all to find the one who will be most likely to beat the outgoing Republican President on November 3.
Donald Trump immediately won the Republican caucuses in Iowa – just a formality. As a thumbs up to the Democrats, the Republican billionaire had dispatched his two eldest sons, Donald Junior and Eric Trump, on site Monday.
The presidential shadow hangs all the more over this primary that Donald Trump must deliver his annual speech on the state of the Union on Tuesday before obtaining, on Wednesday, an almost certain acquittal during his trial for removal from the Senate.
