SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks from his campaign's New Hampshire headquarters in Manchester on February 06, 2020. (Photo: Bernie Sanders Campaign)
'Because I Got 6,000 More Votes': Bernie Sanders Declares Victory in Iowa Caucus
"From where I come, when you get 6,000 more votes that's generally regarded to be the winner."
Feb 05, 2020
Touting his 6,000-vote lead over Pete Buttigieg with 97% of Iowa Democratic caucus precincts reporting, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday declared victory in the first-in-the-nation presidential contest and slammed the state Democratic Party's handling of the process as "extremely unfair to the people of Iowa" and the entire 2020 Democratic presidential field.
"What I want to do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night," Sanders said during a press conference in Manchester, New Hampshire. "Even though the vote tabulations have been extremely slow, we are now at a point with some 97% of the precincts reporting where our campaign is winning the popular initial vote by some 6,000 votes."
"When 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"In other words, some 6,000 more Iowans came out on caucus night to support our candidacy than the candidacy of anyone else," the Vermont senator added. "And when 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."
The latest batch of caucus results released by the Iowa Democratic Party early Thursday morning show Sanders ahead of Buttigieg in the first alignment popular vote 42,672 to 36,718--a lead of 5,954 votes. In the final alignment popular vote, as Common Dreams reported ealier, Sanders is leading Buttigieg by more than 2,500 votes--44,753 to 42,235.
Sanders' declaration of victory came just hours after Buttigieg, in a conference call with supporters Wednesday night, claimed victory in the Iowa caucus and called himself "the momentum candidate."
Asked Thursday why the public should believe his victory declaration over Buttigieg's, Sanders responded, "Because I got 6,000 more votes."
"And from where I come," Sanders added, "when you get 6,000 more votes that's generally regarded to be the winner."
Sanders brushed aside news that Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez demanded that the Iowa Democratic Party immediately "recanvass" the results of the caucus, emphasizing that he won the popular vote and that he and Buttigieg are likely to emerge from the process with the same number of national pledged delegates.
"We won an eight-person election by some 6,000 votes," Sanders said. "That is not going to be changed."
Watch full the press conference:
"The 2020 Iowa caucus was never about the number of DNC delegates. It was always about the momentum story," tweeted Becky Bond, a former aide to Sanders who worked on Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign last year, following Thursday's press conference.
Major news outlets and prominent journalists covering the primaries should "change their criteria for declaring a winner in Iowa to the popular vote," Bond added, and should do so "while it still matters."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jon Queally
Jon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.
Jake Johnson
Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.
Touting his 6,000-vote lead over Pete Buttigieg with 97% of Iowa Democratic caucus precincts reporting, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday declared victory in the first-in-the-nation presidential contest and slammed the state Democratic Party's handling of the process as "extremely unfair to the people of Iowa" and the entire 2020 Democratic presidential field.
"What I want to do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night," Sanders said during a press conference in Manchester, New Hampshire. "Even though the vote tabulations have been extremely slow, we are now at a point with some 97% of the precincts reporting where our campaign is winning the popular initial vote by some 6,000 votes."
"When 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"In other words, some 6,000 more Iowans came out on caucus night to support our candidacy than the candidacy of anyone else," the Vermont senator added. "And when 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."
The latest batch of caucus results released by the Iowa Democratic Party early Thursday morning show Sanders ahead of Buttigieg in the first alignment popular vote 42,672 to 36,718--a lead of 5,954 votes. In the final alignment popular vote, as Common Dreams reported ealier, Sanders is leading Buttigieg by more than 2,500 votes--44,753 to 42,235.
Sanders' declaration of victory came just hours after Buttigieg, in a conference call with supporters Wednesday night, claimed victory in the Iowa caucus and called himself "the momentum candidate."
Asked Thursday why the public should believe his victory declaration over Buttigieg's, Sanders responded, "Because I got 6,000 more votes."
"And from where I come," Sanders added, "when you get 6,000 more votes that's generally regarded to be the winner."
Sanders brushed aside news that Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez demanded that the Iowa Democratic Party immediately "recanvass" the results of the caucus, emphasizing that he won the popular vote and that he and Buttigieg are likely to emerge from the process with the same number of national pledged delegates.
"We won an eight-person election by some 6,000 votes," Sanders said. "That is not going to be changed."
Watch full the press conference:
"The 2020 Iowa caucus was never about the number of DNC delegates. It was always about the momentum story," tweeted Becky Bond, a former aide to Sanders who worked on Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign last year, following Thursday's press conference.
Major news outlets and prominent journalists covering the primaries should "change their criteria for declaring a winner in Iowa to the popular vote," Bond added, and should do so "while it still matters."
Jon Queally
Jon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.
Jake Johnson
Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.
Touting his 6,000-vote lead over Pete Buttigieg with 97% of Iowa Democratic caucus precincts reporting, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday declared victory in the first-in-the-nation presidential contest and slammed the state Democratic Party's handling of the process as "extremely unfair to the people of Iowa" and the entire 2020 Democratic presidential field.
"What I want to do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night," Sanders said during a press conference in Manchester, New Hampshire. "Even though the vote tabulations have been extremely slow, we are now at a point with some 97% of the precincts reporting where our campaign is winning the popular initial vote by some 6,000 votes."
"When 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"In other words, some 6,000 more Iowans came out on caucus night to support our candidacy than the candidacy of anyone else," the Vermont senator added. "And when 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."
The latest batch of caucus results released by the Iowa Democratic Party early Thursday morning show Sanders ahead of Buttigieg in the first alignment popular vote 42,672 to 36,718--a lead of 5,954 votes. In the final alignment popular vote, as Common Dreams reported ealier, Sanders is leading Buttigieg by more than 2,500 votes--44,753 to 42,235.
Sanders' declaration of victory came just hours after Buttigieg, in a conference call with supporters Wednesday night, claimed victory in the Iowa caucus and called himself "the momentum candidate."
Asked Thursday why the public should believe his victory declaration over Buttigieg's, Sanders responded, "Because I got 6,000 more votes."
"And from where I come," Sanders added, "when you get 6,000 more votes that's generally regarded to be the winner."
Sanders brushed aside news that Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez demanded that the Iowa Democratic Party immediately "recanvass" the results of the caucus, emphasizing that he won the popular vote and that he and Buttigieg are likely to emerge from the process with the same number of national pledged delegates.
"We won an eight-person election by some 6,000 votes," Sanders said. "That is not going to be changed."
Watch full the press conference:
"The 2020 Iowa caucus was never about the number of DNC delegates. It was always about the momentum story," tweeted Becky Bond, a former aide to Sanders who worked on Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign last year, following Thursday's press conference.
Major news outlets and prominent journalists covering the primaries should "change their criteria for declaring a winner in Iowa to the popular vote," Bond added, and should do so "while it still matters."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy