DES MOINES, Iowa — With the 2024 Iowa caucuses at the center of the U.S. political world, some might be looking to the past and reflecting on 2020's infamous happenings.
Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus status has long been the first step toward the presidential election, but the Iowa Democratic Caucus hit a few snags in 2020.
On Feb. 3, 2020, results from Iowa Democrats were stagnant, with only a few tallies trickling in by early morning on Feb. 4, due to app problems and reporting errors.
The caucus night disaster ultimately led to multiple recounts and the resignation of Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price. Final results from the 2020 Iowa Caucus were not certified until Feb. 29, 2020.
Here's how Democratic candidates ranked:
- Pete Buttigieg: 26.2%
- Bernie Sanders: 26.1%
- Elizabeth Warren: 18%
- Joe Biden: 15.8%
- Amy Klobuchar: 12.3%
- Andrew Yang: 1%
While Buttigieg had a minuscule lead over Sanders, the Associated Press opted not to declare a winner of the Iowa Democratic Caucus, saying it was too close to call.
Biden, who eventually won the presidential nomination and went on to defeat Former President Donald Trump in the general election, underperformed in the 2020 caucuses, coming in fourth place.
In comparison, results from the Iowa Republican Caucus were much more straightforward. Former President Donald Trump was the incumbent at the time.
In 2024 he is still Iowa's GOP front-runner, and four years ago he toppled all other opponents with a whopping 97% of the vote - a total that came out on caucus night.
- Donald Trump: 97.1%
- Bill Weld: 1.3%
The 2020 caucus debacle ultimately led to Iowa Democrats losing their first-in-the-nation caucus status. In December 2022, the Democratic National Committee's rule-making arm removed Iowa as the leadoff state, replacing the Hawkeye State with South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Iowa Republicans retained their first-in-the-nation caucus status. Both Iowa Democrats and Iowa Republicans will still hold their party caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024, but Democrats will not release presidential nominating results until Super Tuesday.