Buttigieg surrogate: Iowa Democratic Party ‘did the right thing’

A surrogate for Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday defended the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) after a muddled vote count has caused significant delays in reporting Monday’s caucus results.

Jennifer Holdsworth argued that the IDP “did the right thing” in delaying the release of the results and ensuring that the data was sound.

“If there was any question about how the results were being compiled, they had to do what they did,” Holdswoth, a senior vice president of issues management for MWWPR Public Affairs, told Hill.TV.

“They had to make sure that the results were sound,” she added. “That everything was counted the right way so that we can have integrity in the process.”

The IDP has continued to face backlash over their handling of Monday’s first-in-the-nation caucus.

IDP officials have blamed a breakdown in a mobile app that was being used by precincts across the state to report final vote tallies. They said while the app was reporting data accurately, it was only reporting partial data in some instances.

Several presidential campaigns complained about a lack of transparency amid the chaos and questioned what caused the delay while some Iowa political experts have expressed concern that their state’s first-in-the-nation status in the presidential nomination could be in jeopardy. 

So far, just 71 percent of precincts in Iowa had finished tabulating results as of Wednesday morning.

Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have claimed the top two spots so far, with the former South Bend, Ind., mayor maintaining a slight lead. However, there are still a number of precincts left to count and the race remains too close to call.

Though no official winner has been declared, Buttigieg has already claimed victory as he looks to drum up support heading into the New Hampshire primary next week.

Buttigieg on Monday night called the caucus an “astonishing victory for our movement.”

— Tess Bonn