Iowa Democratic Chair Troy Price resigned on Wednesday after the party’s Iowa Caucus results were delayed and the winner was not determined just a little more than four days before the New Hampshire Primary.
Several precinct chairs reported difficulties with the app the Iowa Democratic Party adopted this election cycle to report caucus results on February 3rd.
They originally expected results to start coming in by 7:00p the evening of the caucus, but only partial results were released the next afternoon. Results were then gradually released throughout the week until South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was declared the winner last Thursday.
“By all accounts, the precinct and satellite caucus meetings themselves went well. Over the last week, we have received positive feedback on these meetings – how smoothly they ran, how the new procedures helped to make the night move more quickly and efficiently, and how more Democrats of all backgrounds came together united in the goal of defeating Donald Trump and electing new leadership for our country,” Price wrote in his resignation letter.
“However, there is no doubt that the process of reporting results did not work. It was simply unacceptable,” he added.
Price called for an independent review of the decisions and process that led to the app’s failure. He added that the Iowa Democratic Party is not the only one to blame.
“While this process is just beginning, know that the IDP is not the only party to blame for what happened last week. We worked collaboratively with our partners, our vendors, and the DNC in this process, and I am confident the review will be able to determine exactly what went wrong, what went right, and how we can avoid this from ever happening again,” he wrote.
“The fact is that Democrats deserved better than what happened on caucus night. As chair of this party, I am deeply sorry for what happened and bear the responsibility for any failures on behalf of the Iowa Democratic Party,” Price said. “While it is my desire to stay in this role and see this process through to completion, I do believe it is time for the Iowa Democratic Party to begin looking forward, and my presence in my current role makes that more difficult.”
