WASHINGTON – The first-in-the-nation Democratic nominating contest in Iowa will go down in infamy after technological snafus resulted in results not being reported for nearly a day, costing the candidates who performed well their moment in the media spotlight and allowing others to question the legitimacy of the outcome.
FILE PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S., February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
As a result, it is debatable how much momentum the projected winner, whether it is Pete Buttigieg or Bernie Sanders, or any other contender, has going into the next contest, Feb. 11 in New Hampshire. The candidates have already moved on to campaigning in that state.
Now that the returns from 71% of precincts are known, here is how the Iowa caucuses affected the top candidates:
BERNIE SANDERS
The U.S. senator from Vermont was widely viewed as the leading candidate going into the caucuses — and the early reporting from precincts did nothing to contradict that. But Sanders was denied a crowning moment on Monday night, the kind of thing that propels political narratives. Then when results were finally released, they showed Buttigieg ahead in state delegate equivalents with Sanders winning the popular vote.
On top of that, Sanders’ supporters also have to be concerned that turnout statistics suggested that t