Hunter
03/06/24
President Joe Biden will head to the Democratic National Convention with all of Iowa’s 46 delegates after a sweeping win in the state’s first Democratic mail-in caucus.
The Gazette reports Biden won 91 percent of the votes, according to unofficial results announced by the party Tuesday night. Another 4 percent cast their vote as “uncommitted.” U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota received 3 percent and Marianne Williamson, a self-help author who dropped out of the race but later said she was reentering, received 2 percent.
Given the forgone conclusion that Biden would win, the low participation rate was not considered a concern. Nearly 12,200 state Democrats returned their “presidential preference cards,” about 60% of the roughly 20,000 cards requested. That participation rate is about 2 percent of the total registered Democrats in the state.
State Democrats had to reinvent the process after the Democratic National Committee took away Iowa’s “first in the nation” status. State lawmakers passed legislation requiring both parties to hold caucuses on the same date, so Democrats used their caucuses to discuss party business. The DNC said Iowa couldn’t release their vote totals until Super Tuesday, so the preference card option was put into play. State Democrats say in a more competitive presidential race, the system will allow more people to participate.