The 2020 presidential election officially begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET across the state of Iowa.
Top Issues
Iowans care more about health care by a long shot over other issues.
41% Health care
21% Climate change
17% Income inequality
14% Foreign policy
Pictures From Iowa
The @JoeBiden campaign has opened the doors and people have begun trickling in to Biden's caucus night event after participating in their own caucuses. Oh, and the media is here too. #iacaucus pic.twitter.com/HazgT3tfCc
— Stephen Gruber-Miller (@sgrubermiller) February 4, 2020
With new #IowaCaucus rules this year, the room is much less crowded after round 1, many supporters of viable candidates are headed home pic.twitter.com/w2fjUH738R
— Isaac LaRoy Hamlet (@IsaacHamlet) February 4, 2020
The 1st preference official document at @DrakeUniversity Knapp center location tonight. Check marks note viability out of 1st round. #IACaucus pic.twitter.com/je5mhBgccS
— Andrew Batt (@AndBatt) February 4, 2020
A festive atmosphere at the YMCA in South Des Moines — one of the first sites in Iowa tonight to serve caucus-goers who only speak Spanish. And yes, they’re playing all the hits.
So far, Selena, Rocío Dúrcal, and Intocable. #iacaucus pic.twitter.com/zwKuY3zrnS
— Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) February 4, 2020
So the 800-person crowd at the University of Iowa is now caucusing in the dark. Because the caucus process wasn’t weird enough…#IowaCaucuses #IACaucus #forreals?! pic.twitter.com/YeEIaEF2zF
— Vanessa Miller (@VanessaMiller12) February 4, 2020
"Not me, Us" chants from @BernieSanders group in West Des Moines. Team coverage for @IAStartingLine #IACaucus pic.twitter.com/jm8gOvK5yP
— Julie Fleming (@jaflemingf) February 4, 2020
Over the last few weeks we have been talking to students across the state about our vision for #FreeCollegeForAll and why they should #CaucusForBernie because he shares our vision for a radical higher education system that works for everyone! #IACaucus pic.twitter.com/NDSe6kifQq
— Iowa Student Action (@IAStudentAction) February 4, 2020
.@JulianCastro working his magic moving undecideds to Warren supporters in Des Moines #IACaucus #LFG pic.twitter.com/k6FyUdPsWf
— Maria Langholz (@MariaLangholz) February 4, 2020
At our precinct in Des Moines, due to immigrant turnout, chairs ran out for Bernie. Biden, 2nd, wasn’t viable. He needed 15 votes and had max 10. Bernie had 138 in round 1. #IowaCaucuses #IowaCaucus #Iowa #Bernie2020 pic.twitter.com/2RU98Erkzi
— S.V. Bhatia (@SVBhatia) February 4, 2020
Realignment
Why you will hear realignment:
First comes the aptly named first round.
That’s when caucus participants break into their presidential candidate preference groups, moving to one part of the room to indicate support for a certain candidate.
After that happens, each group is counted. A candidate typically needs 15% of the vote to be viable (aka make it to the next round).
If a candidate doesn’t meet the 15% threshold, those participants can then realign (get it?) to support another candidate. The Iowa Democratic party’s new rules now say only participants with non-viable candidates can realign.
That realignment process happens until the final round, when all candidate groups meet 15%. Then, the caucus precinct chair determines how many county delegates are assigned to each candidate group.
The winner of the Iowa caucuses is based off the delegate allocation, rather than popular vote (similar to the electoral college).
Problems With a Caucus-Counting Mobile App
A source told CNN that the Democratic Party has encountered problems with an app that should “transmit vote totals from precincts to state headquarters.” More:
Iowa Democratic Party Communications Director Mandy McClure tells CNN that, from the beginning, party officials have been prepared to deal with issues of human error and poor cell service as they arise. The app is not the only option to forward precinct vote totals.
“The IDP is working with any precinct chairs who want to use the optional tabulation application to make sure they are comfortable with it,” McClure said. “We’ve always been aware that many precinct chairs prefer to call in results via a secure hotline, and have systems in place so they can do so.”
Linda Nelson, a chairperson for the Pottawattamie County’s Democratic party, posted a call for help on Facebook:
“I still cannot get my caucus app to work. I get to the point of adding my precinct PIN from the math worksheet, I continue to get the error message. What am I doing wrong?”
While precinct totals may be transmitted with the mobile app, the party is using presidential preference cards for each voter to create a paper backup system for tonight’s caucuses.
The state Democratic party organization oversees tonight’s contest.
The Caucus
I still don’t fully understand caucuses:
Delegates are awarded based on those who reach a certain threshold of support by the end of the night.
For the Democratic caucuses, voters will split up into different sections of the room dedicated to their presidential candidate of choice. Typically, a candidate needs 15% of the vote to remain viable, as determined by the amount of people participating in the precinct location. Smaller locations may have different viability thresholds.
If a candidate is not viable, their voters can realign to another viable candidate or join together to create a group in support of another candidate that meets the threshold.
Iowa Republican caucusgoers will vote by secret ballot, not by standing up in different groups like Iowa Democratic caucusgoers.
It takes place in 1,678 caucus locations along with 87 satellite locations. They even have one in Tbilisi, Georgia!
The Democrats have a chance of getting 41 delegates.
WAJ UPDATES — CHAOS! AND THEY WANT TO RUN THE COUNTRY?
Des Moines Precinct 80:
Bernie’s group had 101 people
Pete’s group had 66 peopleBernie & Pete end up tied at 4 delegates following a coin toss.
This is democracy??? ?#IACaucus pic.twitter.com/g9q1k67Vpn
— Polk County Sheriff Jaylen Cavil (@jaylencavil) February 4, 2020
https://twitter.com/shawnsebastian/status/1224538096571686912
Wow — another twist. Sanders won this precinct by 20 points but now 5 candidates will get 1 delegate each — Biden team amassed extra delegates, and then siphoned them to Klo & Warren. Bernie supporters are pissed “This is a joke.. waste of time.” Stormed out.
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) February 4, 2020
Apparently they learned from the Master:
Bernie won and the party is currently wiping all the servers with a cloth https://t.co/NAzNplGIOr
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) February 4, 2020
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Comments
Yawn…
What?
Mini Mike didn’t go to caucus?
Mini Mike and the DNC Riggers Win Big!
Club Moves – Bloomberg Jumps into Third…
As predictable as the sunrise. Club engineers now maneuver Michael Bloomberg into third place. Notice how Morning Consult positions the graphic with Bloomberg leaping over Warren. Now we enter the phase were national media will discover a new found love for the former New York City mayor… a considerable shift in the corporate narrative.
Morning Consult publishes their poll of 15,000 democrats…
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/03/club-moves-bloomberg-jumps-into-third/
“Nothing is organic. Everything is controlled and scripted.”
Ibib.
He bought one.
Doesn’t matter anyhow…. I think that Biden will be the presumed nominee, until the convention at which point Bloomberg will become “the compromise everyone can live with” – at great expense to Mike’s pocketbook but, hey! He has a big pocketbook.
I also see Hillary as VP but that’s another drink.
Ha ha ha!
Mini Mike for the newly, very shrunken Democrat Party! Fits.
Rumor has it that Mini Mike, searching high and low for someone smaller than himself, is considering Minnie Mouse to be his running mate as she adds three strong points to his ticket: black, female and well-vetted.
Mini Minnie 2020
Not the failed Georgia Dem for Gov.?
Say what?
We can confirm the final results of the unreleased Iowa Poll:
Sanders 22%
Warren 18%
Buttigieg 16%
Biden 13%
https://www.weaselzippers.us/443124-unreleased-des-moines-register-poll-put-bernie-sanders-on-top-joe-biden-in-fourth-place/
A spokesman from the Mini Mike campaign says that Big Gulps and Big Women are not kosher.
I also see Hillary as VP but that’s another drink.
For God’s sake …. stop drinking!
Let’s have another coin toss!
They could have tossed Mike Bloomberg, had a bit of fun..
Heads or tails?
So reporting will be spiked due to cell phone problems?
Just kidding. I think.
Cell phones can use wifi now, in places with no cell coverage.
jack allison @jackallisonLOL
holy (Schiff) folks. Sanders might cheat in Iowa…. by accurately providing the election results, in real-time
I hope the DNC has voting in my state. I just want to go in and vote for the crappiest choice most likely to lose and leave. I don’t want to sit in close quarters with a bunch of smelly nonbathing Leftists.
Why does the picture only show 5 of the 7 dwarfs?
Well Mini Mike’s too tiny to show up I suppose and the other one?????
Why does the picture only show 5 of the 7 dwarfs?
I don’t know. A sad lot, that bunch. Only one dwarf in seven is Happy.
No, I am not a Democrat but Independents are allowed to vote in my state. I voted for Bernie in the primary 2016 to give Hillary the finger. Not sure who I will be voting for this round as they all look like losers.
Creepy, sleepy, crazy 30330 quid pro joe.
Comrade bernie.
Failed Mayor buttedge-edge.
Pocahontas warren.
Cruella De klobuchar.
Ukraine about to blow up.
john kerry rigging against bernie.
Mayor pete doesn’t need any skeletons to hurt his chances because he doesn’t have a chance to begin with.
liz can’t open her mouth without a lie tumbling out.
myon burrell set to haunt mean girl amy.
This is going to be one heII of an election season.
For Democrats it will be another “erection season” to erect post-turtles………
Ripley’s Believe it or Not – 2020 edition
Live Iowa Results – New York Times Results
Buttigieg 886
Sanders 762
Biden 519
Klobuchar 499
Mini Mike? Not reported
See the DNC RIGGING right before your eyes folks. Step right this way.
First results reported for caucus alignment votes.
Keep seeing reports around the web that Peter Paul won the Iowa caucus….
Can it be the DNC rigged it that obviously?
Methinks so.
Phil Elliott
@Philip_Elliott
It’s official at Drake: only Warren, Sanders and Buttigieg are viable at this site.
With Yang, Biden and Klobuchar failing viability test, a protest move by their backers is made to caucus for Cory Booker — who is not in the race any longer.
“We will rise” is the chant from the protest bloc of former Biden, Yang and Klobuchar backers at this Drake U caucus site.
With this morning’s facts,
I don’t believe that NYT report.
The app failing isn’t a failure, it is a feature, how else can they get the results they want?
“(The) Ap that supposedly was behind the Iowa crisis, (and) the “shadow” tech company that was behind the Ap and directly connected to the Clinton DNC apparatus; which also just happens to have a connection to Buttigieg……
All the time and money Democrat candidates spent campaigning in Iowa was all for nothing. Like impeachment.
But it will have the same result. Keeping PDJT in office for four more years.
damn nice of them to stop pretending…
when does Shrillery make an appearance?
either as candidate or VP? (and who would be suicidal enough o take her as Veep?
All I can say is how sexist Democrats are. Women are not just 20% of the population.
Hard to understand how a party so adept at rigging elections is having such a hard time now. Have to work the bugs out of the new technology before November.
What a state of affairs. What a set of freaks.
They can only exist with the complicity of the GOP.
They’re going to blame it on Russian hackers instead of their own incompetance.
Are you sure they won’t blame Trump?
The app was designed by laid off MSM hacks who learned to code.
The Democrats stop at nothing. They don’t want Sanders to be the nominee. They will delay reporting results until the news cycle has passed. WOW how corrupt.
I am all for chaos in the Democratic Party. The more the better.
They are in such disarray and state of panic that the only process in evidence is “Every polymorphic life form for itself! Shut up! No YOU shut up!”.
Mission Accomplished – Chaos in Iowa Caucuses Helps and Hurts All The Right Candidates…
From the DNC Club’s perspective there were three strategic needs surrounding the Iowa caucuses: (1) Hide the collapse of Joe Biden; (2) Diminish the win by Bernie Sanders; and (3) cover-up a less than enthusiastic voter turnout. Given the nature of very public primary races, this three-pronged challenge seemed almost impossible.
Almost.
If everything just seemed to collapse, go wrong, and become a mess; and if the end of the night outcomes could be delayed and undetermined; well, in that scenario the objective would be considered ‘mission accomplished‘ on all three points.
That exact scenario just ,,,,happened.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/04/mission-accomplished-chaos-in-iowa-caucuses-helps-and-hurts-all-the-right-candidates/
“(The) Ap that supposedly was behind the Iowa crisis, (and) the “shadow” tech company that was behind the Ap and directly connected to the Clinton DNC apparatus; which also just happens to have a connection to Buttigieg. That part doesn’t matter now; done is done. How the Club did it is less important than everyone understanding what took place wasn’t an organic accident.” Ibi
Could’ve been worse. They could have decided to further divide the process by sub-grouping according to gender identification. Impossible to have unity when everyone is fighting to preserve their one personal 1%er cause. Iowans should be doing more than just walking away from this loony process. Maybe replacing it with something that involves voting?
I’m just glad that I wasn’t taking off from Des Moines airport last night. I bet a couple of camps had operatives out in the parking lot with a portable SAM in case they needed an even bigger distraction.
Or, they could just take a frikkin vote on a paper ballot like normal elections
This fiasco with the cell phone voting gives Seattle something to look forward to.
After 8 years of Common Core Math, how would of today’s ANY non- private schooled/non-homeschooled/non-charter schooled youth know how to tally up the results of the Iowa Caucus Crack-up?
“We don’t know who won. Ask Bloomberg. He bought us out.”