The 2020 Iowa caucuses

By Meg Wagner, Amanda Wills, Veronica Rocha and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 12:14 a.m. ET, February 5, 2020
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11:01 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

There's nervousness at Biden's election night party

From CNN's Eric Bradner

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images

As people streamed into Joe Biden’s election night party at Drake University, attendees were nervously awaiting results.

Biden had not met the viability threshold in a Johnston precinct where Melanie Weatherall, a 50-year-old former nurse, said she caucused.

She said she’s “very discouraged, because people aren’t waking up -- they don’t understand.”

“I keep talking to people until I’m blue in the face, because none of them can beat Trump or Republicans,” Weatherall said. “So we’re going to be stuck with Donald Trump another four years.”

Tom Rial, a precinct captain for Biden in suburban West Des Moines, said he was nervous. In his precinct, he said, the top five contenders were virtually tied, with Buttigieg taking three of the 11 available delegates and Biden, Klobuchar, Warren and Sanders taking two each. 

He said he was surprised to hear from friends in more rural precincts that Buttigieg had been strong.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how things are going,” he said. “It looks like a bunch of ties.”

CNN's Arlette Saenz live from Biden's election night party:

11:01 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

2020 results are coming in far later than previous years

From CNN's Kate Sullivan

Tom Brenner/Getty Images
Tom Brenner/Getty Images

Zero precincts are reporting in the Iowa caucuses so far.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer noted that at 10 p.m. ET in 2016, there were 70% of precincts reporting

CNN’s David Chalian said, “It is hard when you look at the clock and you see its 10:16 (p.m.) Wolf, to not begin to wonder if something maybe askew.”

The Iowa Democratic Party said in a statement: “We are doing our quality control checks, making sure the numbers are accurate. People are still caucusing, we’re working to report results soon.”

Chalian noted: “We’re not getting a sense of how long the quality control take, what exactly is the quality control process that the party is undertaking right now.”

“This is far later than when we’ve seen reports in Iowa caucuses past of the vote coming in,” Chalian said. “And so now, the party, they're sticking to this notion of we’re doing quality control checks. I'm not sure how much longer they can just sort of say that and not have questions surrounding whether or not is there some reporting problem, is there something askew, or is everything fine and they’re just being super cautious.”

CNN’s John King noted, “There are more candidates this time, so give some grace, but to your point, this came in pretty quick. This came in pretty quick. And it was very close, so it’s not like it was a blow out. It’s not like it was easy to count.”

Hear analysis on the delay:

10:55 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

Iowa Democrats: Delay is "due to quality checks"

From CNN's Adam Levy

Gene J. Puskar/AP
Gene J. Puskar/AP

Iowa Democratic Party Communications Director Mandy McClure said the delay in the results is "due to quality checks" and the party's decision to report three totals this year.

"Integrity of the results is paramount," McClure said.

Here's the full statement:

"The integrity of the results is paramount. We have experienced a delay in the results due to quality checks and the fact that the IDP is reporting out three data sets for the first time. What we know right now is that around 25% of precincts have reported, and early data indicates turnout is on pace for 2016." 

About the three numbers: Iowa Democrats are releasing more information about caucus results than usual this year. There are three sets of numbers we're expecting:

  • State delegates won: Each precinct sends delegates to county conventions, who then send delegates to the state convention. The "state delegate equivalents" — the number that'll be the focus tonight — are the estimated number of delegates candidates have won to the state convention based on their results in each precinct.
  • The first alignment: The state Democratic Party will release the total number of people at each precinct that lined up with each candidate at the start of the caucuses.
  • The second alignment: Then, after realignment — the process where those who fall short of 15% are eliminated, with their supporters either choosing a different candidate to back or going home — the state party will release those raw vote totals as well.

Hear Chalian's analysis: 'They're buying time'

10:47 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

The results are still delayed. Here's why that could be a concern.

Matt Rourke/AP
Matt Rourke/AP

We're still awaiting results from Iowa's Democratic party — even though nearly an hour ago a source told CNN numbers would be ready around 10 p.m. ET.

CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston said the delay could be concerning.

"I have confidence in them, but I would say this: It is bringing in some concern and certainly wondering about what is exactly happening now behind the scenes," he said.

Remember: Iowa Democrats are releasing more information about caucus results than usual this year.

There are three sets of numbers we're expecting:

  • State delegates won: Each precinct sends delegates to county conventions, who then send delegates to the state convention. The "state delegate equivalents" — the number that'll be the focus tonight — are the estimated number of delegates candidates have won to the state convention based on their results in each precinct.
  • The first alignment: The state Democratic Party will release the total number of people at each precinct that lined up with each candidate at the start of the caucuses.
  • The second alignment: Then, after realignment — the process where those who fall short of 15% are eliminated, with their supporters either choosing a different candidate to back or going home — the state party will release those raw vote totals as well.

Chalian: Something is clearly off from the plan

10:36 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

Democratic campaigns are beginning to worry about delay in results

From CNN's Dan Merica

Some Democratic presidential campaigns have started to worry about the delay in reporting results in Iowa.

An aide to a top Democratic campaign said their operation doesn’t “know what’s going on” but “something is clearly up.” 

“It just eats time,” the aide said.

And an aide to former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg also said they were worried about the delay in reporting results.

10:30 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

Iowa Democratic Party: "We're working to report results soon"

From CNN's Adam Levy

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images

An Iowa Democratic party official said the team is "working to report results soon."

“We are doing our quality control checks, making sure the numbers are accurate. People are still caucusing, we’re working to report results soon," the official said.

Earlier, before 10 p.m. ET, a source a Democratic state party official told CNN's David Chalian that they "should have something near top of the hour."

CNN's David Chalian explains more:

10:26 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

There are mixed emotions at Warren HQ as supporters arrive

From CNN's MJ Lee

Andrew Harnik/AP
Andrew Harnik/AP

Elizabeth Warren’s election night party ballroom in Des Moines is starting to fill up with Iowans who attended various caucus sites.

Speaking to several of them, there are mixed emotions early in the evening.

Angela Thompson, who caucused at Precinct 51 in south Des Moines, told CNN that she was “really sad” because there were not a lot of people for Warren in the first alignment, and Warren was not viable. Thompson said those who initially chose Warren either ended up being uncommitted or going to Bernie Sanders – she also went to Sanders, she said, but was uncomfortable with her choice, and did so grudgingly.

“I wanted to stick with Warren,” Thompson said.

Kirsten Fath, a teacher who also caucused in Des Moines tonight at an elementary school site, was excited that Warren was viable. She said that Warren picked up quite a bit of supporters the second round – most of those new supporters seemed to come from voters who originally were in Andrew Yang’s corner.

10:24 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

Buttigieg aides: Campaign seeing strong results in suburbs and rural area

From CNN's Abby Phillip and Dan Merica

Andrew Harnik/AP
Andrew Harnik/AP

Two senior aides to the Pete Buttigieg campaign said they are seeing stronger than expected results (specifically viability on the first alignment) in rural, suburban, and pivot precincts, according to their internal tallies. Aides view this as a key sign that their strategy of focusing on a broad array of precincts is paying off. 

“Things look pretty good so far," one aide said.

A second senior campaign adviser said that the exit polls released so far validate an effort by the campaign to show to voters that they can win voters across demographics. 

"Pete is putting together the widest coalition," the adviser said. "He is second among voters under 30 and voters over 65 while those leaders don’t even hit 10% in the other category."

10:24 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020

Remember: The numbers we have so far are only for individual caucus sites

Gene J. Puskar/AP
Gene J. Puskar/AP

CNN reporters have been reporting results at the caucus sites they're at — but remember: These are only for individual caucuses, and not for Iowa as a whole.

"It's just numbers that all of our reporters at the various caucus sites that they've been at have been reporting in," CNN's David Chalian explained. "It's the numbers we have been showing on the screen."

We're still waiting to hear from state officials about the results, Chalian said. He added that a state official told him they're doing "quality control" on the results before they report them.

"They're trying to make certain that what they report out as official results is accurate — reflects exactly the numbers that are sent in from each of these precincts," Chalian said.

Watch more analysis: