It's not just that Bernie got the most votes, it's also how.

[DanTex]

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/03/us/elections/results-iowa-caucus-polls.html

Bernie won pretty much every demo except for "rich white people." Which contradicts all the smears they tried to throw at him going into it.

Remember how the Joe Rogan endorsement proved Bernie was racist/sexist? Bernie won both female voters and nonwhite voters. He got 45% of nonwhite women.

Remember how free college and debt relief was elitist and a handout to rich people? Bernie won non-college voters. And he won all the income brackets below $75K.

[OnDoutside]

1. How the hell are you "undecided" ?!!!! Lol !

[DanTex]

3. Because I'm still deciding.

Leaning Bernie, Warren, or Yang.

[OnDoutside]

17. No worries, I just noticed so many pro Bernie posts from you that

I was surprised when I noticed the undecided.

[Bluepinky]

23. I'm still undecided too, but I also am pro-Bernie.

There is so much animosity toward Bernie on DU, much of it unfair, that it triggers me to protect and support him. It’s very divisive to constantly attack Bernie.

[Desert grandma]

34. I don't attack Bernie.

However, realistically, I do not think there is a chance in hell that he can beat the Orange Buffoon in a GE. Too many states that we need to win to defeat him, wouldn't vote for him IMO. I am talking about Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. I will hold my nose and vote for him if he becomes the nominee, but I so hope he does not. Nothing would make Trump happier than to run against Bernie. We do not attack Bernie or his policies. Many of us have deep concerns about his electability. I fear that it would be an electoral disaster.

[Kentonio]

35. Both Michigan and Wisconsin went for Bernie in the 2016 primary

[Desert grandma]

38. To me, that does not say much.

I am talking about the GE. We need more than Democrats to win in those states.

[Kentonio]

39. Sanders outperformed a moderate in both those states.

Yet your solution to win those states back is to pick another moderate?

[Desert grandma]

41. Yes.

This year I think a liberal candidate promoting "revolution" would not do as well. In this divided political climate I do not think a far left liberal would do very well nationally. If Sanders becomes the nominee, I will vote for him, even though I think it will be an electoral disaster.

[R B Garr]

44. The irony is that his attacks on Democrats is why I dislike him, and I've been insulted

so many times by the revolution that they have made me a lost cause. So it's opposite world here for me and my husband who have seen who the divisiveness originated with.

[democrattotheend]

62. Same, sort of

I supported him in 2016, but lost some respect for him because of how he behaved at the end. I think the fame and the crowds got to his head and he is not the same person he was at the beginning of 2016. So I'm not "feeling the Bern" this time, and I also have concerns that he has burned too many bridges with the establishment whose help he will need to get elected if he is the nominee. But I think a lot of the attacks on him are unfair, so I continue to defend him when appropriate. But I have also defended Biden against some ridiculous attacks here.

[Bluepinky]

63. I defend all of the Democratic candidates against any attacks.

That’s why I’m still undecided. I think each of them brings his or her own positive attributes to the race. None of them is perfect, but any of them will be better than what we have. I like Joe Biden’s humanity, Elizabeth Warren’s tax and financial plans, Pete B’s smart demeanor and smart ideas on most things, Amy K’s toughness and ability to appeal to independents and moderates, and Bernie Sander’s stances on income inequality and health care. I don’t trust Tulsi G, but most of the others would be fine candidates.
My main criteria is who can beat the horror we have in the White House now.

[democrattotheend]

64. Same, pretty much

I am undecided because nobody excites me that much this year, and I also don't want to get emotionally invested in anyone or donating money/time that I would rather use for the general election.

I wouldn't be too thrilled about Bloomberg, but he's obviously better than Trump so I would support him.

Some of the attacks here on several of the candidates have been ridiculous. From reading various posts on here, one might think 1) Bernie is a Russian plant designed to weaken the party and help Trump; 2) Barack Obama's vice president is a racist; and 3) Mayor Pete is a CIA operative who secretly funded the Iowa meltdown. None of this crap is helpful.

[ahoysrcsm]

65. 10% support at DU really tells a lot about his support.

Can't even get a commitment here. Oh, well.

[redqueen]

37. Would love to hear your thoughts on my points in this op

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287481219

[bluewater]

5. Many people are undecided between Sanders and Warren, as one example.

[OnDoutside]

15. I didn't expect that ! At least you are covering the

Millionaires and Billionaires ! 😏

[bluewater]

22. Everyone is a millionaire, or better, except for Pete.

Joe's renting a mansion in Virginia at $20,000.00 per month right now, as an example.

From 'Middle-Class Joe' to millionaire: Joe Biden is worth an estimated $9 million. Here's a look at the lifestyle, finances, and real-estate portfolio of one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates.

https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-net-worth-lifestyle-real-estate-family-wealth-assets-2020-1

[OnDoutside]

50. Absolutely true, but to be fair, I think only one of them make it a cornerstone issue.

[bluewater]

53. Wasn't that cornerstone issue about TAXING the millionaires?

About paying "their fair share"?

I think all our Democratic candidates are paying their taxes and would gladly pay more by rolling back Trump's tax cuts.

[awesomerwb1]

16. Because it provides him the "cover" of "impartiality".

when he starts 10 pro Bernie threads a day.

[TwilightZone]

61. Bingo.

There may not be anyone on DU whose preference is more blatantly obvious.

[bluewater]

2. So, Bernie had the most support across ALL demographic groups?

Nice!

Good luck to you and your preferred candidate going forward.

[TexasTowelie]

52. .

[George II]

4. How many "non-white" voters are in Iowa?

[DanTex]

6. Why did you put that in quotes? Are non-white voters in Iowa not really non-white?

[bluewater]

8. So why didn't Joe win those non-white voters?

He could have used their votes, for sure.

[HerbChestnut]

18. Not sure what you're trying to imply, but...

https://theweek.com/speedreads/893491/bernie-sanders-dominating-iowas-first-spanishlanguage-caucus

Bernie Sanders is dominating Iowa's first Spanish-language caucus

This year's presidential election features the first bilingual and Spanish-speaking caucus in Iowa's history. And while results are taking longer than usual to come in, it looks like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will be making history at that Des Moines caucus spot as well.

On Monday night, The Washington Post immigration reporter Maria Sacchetti reported from the Des Moines caucus dedicated to bilingual and Spanish-speaking Iowans, and her photos of gathered caucus-goers were telling. None of the Democratic contenders had more than a handful of supporters in their corner — save for Sanders, who had a whole crowd.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[bluewater]

19. Nice Pictures! That's a very diverse crowd of Bernie Supporters!

I am going to book mark this post, because I know how some people love to discuss crowd shots.




Good luck to you and your preferred candidate going forward.

[Desert grandma]

43. Not nearly as many as there are nationally.

Iowa demographics are not representative of the nation as a whole. No nominee can win a general election without the majority support of African Americans, Hispanics and Asians.

[pfeiffer]

7. I think there are still concerns for Bernie.

The following is a bit concerning: a) 46٪ who voted for him back in 2016 voted for a different candidate this year; b) new/young voter turnout was much lower than 2016, and actually nearly half of what it was in 2008.

A few concerns to monitor.

[bluewater]

9. One big concern for Bernie and his supporters would be over confidence.

They need to continue working hard and building on their success in Iowa.

We saw what happened to a campaign on cruise-control, they finished 4th.

[oldsoftie]

14. The concern is that he will not get the independent voters.

And without them, you LOSE the general

[ecstatic]

10. The sample size wasn't big enough. Sorry

You can't say with a straight face that all demographic groups were represented.

[Happyhippychick]

11. Bernie has been campaigning for nearly five straight years and can't win decisively in Iowa

I'm not convinced that he has nearly the support he had the first time.

[bluewater]

21. Biden was a 2 term VP and can't finish better than 4th place in Iowa

I'm not convinced that Joe has the electability on his own that he had when he was Obama's VP.

[Happyhippychick]

26. I agree with you

[bluewater]

28. hi and thanks!

I am hoping that my candidate can hang in the race long enough to pick up Biden or Buttigieg voters if and when the field of candidates thins out.

[Happyhippychick]

30. I haven't picked men candidate yet so I'll support whomever it is!

And nice to Meetcha!

[CentralMass]

25. With the cluster f.ck in Iowa going on and how this cound is being handled ?

Partially counts for days with one candidate preemptively claiming victory ?
Reports yesterday of vote couning errors that gave Sanders and Warren votes to other candidates.

The optics and reality of this are terrible and it has impacted the race. By the conventional wisdom here Sanders was supposed to get hammered in Iowa . Instead it was the presumptive favorite that got hammered.
Thes early events are critical and its not unreasonable for an expectation that the results be available on the night of the election or morning after. Instead we have this convoluted process that weights some votes differently then others and threw a bad app in the mix from a company called "Shadow" with political ties

Whether at the end of this fiasco Sanders either eeks out a win or ends up in a dead heat with Buttigieg this is stain on the party. All this talk of election tampering and riggjng are under cut by the numerous primary fiascos that we always seem to have. This system needs reform. One person one vote.

[Happyhippychick]

27. The clusterfuck doesn't account for why Bernie didn't win by a landslide after building this

organization.

He doesn't have the stuff. Neither does Biden. I'm not sure Buttigieg has it either frankly.

[CentralMass]

31. The field had 20 + candidate + 2 late entries from billonares.

Joe Biden has been leading in the polls for months. While i don't know what the final out come of Iowa will be it is possible that Sanders will have won it.
The vote is spread among the five candidates who met the minimum vote threshold

Pete Buttigieg - Bernie Sanders dead heat.
Elizabeth Warren
Joe Biden
Amy Klobuchar

The story here is about who didnt win.

[ahoysrcsm]

66. BERNIE NUMBER TWO!!! BERNIE NUMBER TWO!!!

I MEAN 111111ONE1ONE!!!!!

[oldsoftie]

13. Why does everyone go apeshit over IOWA?? Worry about the states with delegates.

Iowa is such a waste of money. I see the need to get your name out there, but the already-known candidates acting like its the general is silly.

[highplainsdem]

20. Bernie got an unimpressive amount of support compared to what he had four years ago. No other

candidate had the advantages he had in Iowa due to his 2016 campaign.

He also outspent his rivals.

Whatever the final Iowa results, Buttigieg essentially tied him -- with much less money.

And unlike Biden, Bernie hasn't been subjected to a year of nonstop GOP attacks, plus Trump's impeachment-deserving abuse of power to stop Biden.

Spin all you want, but there's nothing impressive about Bernie's numbers in Iowa.

And there won't be anything impressive about a Bernie victory in NH either, if he wins there. It's basically his back yard. It would be like Biden winning Delaware.

[bluewater]

24. Biden got an unimpressive amount of support compared to everyone else.

No other candidate had the advantage and name recognition of being a 2 term VP to the most popular democratic President in recent history. Biden's startlingly poor 4th place finish has left his campaign reeling.

There will be nothing impressive if Biden loses, again, to Pete Buttigieg in New Hampshire.

[Happyhippychick]

29. Yes, this.

The turnout wasn't even great. I don't think any of the candidates were terriblest inspiring but this was a slap to Bernie whose supporters expected him to win by a landslide.

[ehrnst]

32. But in the end, isn't it the delegates who decide the winner? Like you said about Hillary re: 2016.

But it's good to see that you have changed from "not being terribly interested in vote totals," when it's the delegates who decide who won, to seeing how important the vote totals were was in validating Hillary's actual victory in the GE.

I hope I had an influence on you.



And actually Bernie "tied" with Pete on POC, so no, that wasn't a "win," actually.

You certainly are tireless in pushing an aura of inevitability even when the actual results didn't live up to the hype.

[LanternWaste]

33. IA was Bernie's to walk away with a commanding victory. He dropped the ball.

But I get your lowering of his expectations after reality sets in.

[ChubbyStar]

46. And Joe was just coveting fourth place

Because everyone just wants to come in fourth.

[mgcgulfcoast]

36. Its obvious to me we are getting shafted again

I am getting rather tired of Sanders always being treated unfairly.

[NurseJackie]

40. Oh brother! GMAFB!

[msongs]

42. so 75% or so of iowa voters rejected him and you think you are getting shafted... again lol nt

[phleshdef]

45. " He got 45% of nonwhite women." So in Iowa, that like what? 10 people?

[CentralMass]

48. What percentage did Joe get ? I'm told he has the demographic locked down.

[phleshdef]

49. According to polling, he is still favored by African American voters.

Thats neither here nor there, I was just making a joke about how white Iowa is. Lighten the hell up.

[CentralMass]

55. I wasking about Iowa

[phleshdef]

56. And I was joking about Iowa. Whats your point?

[CentralMass]

57. My point was that if there were 12 poc in all if IowasJoes should have gotten their votes.

[phleshdef]

58. Your point is you want to troll me.

[Blue_Tires]

47. I don't get it...

1. First this whole thing was "rigged" and "corrupt" but now that St. Bern has won somehow it's all legit?

2. Wake me when we get to some states where black folks actually live.

[booley]

59. those arent' mutually exclusive

The cheating by the Republicans was going on in 2008.
Obama still won.

If enough people vote, the cheating doesn't fully work.

Personally I don't' really know if Iowa was rigged.

But deciding to a recanvas right as Sanders appears to have won sure provides fodder for that (and yes I know a recanvass is not a recount). Deciding to change the rules for Bloomberg when the DNC wouldn't change the rules for anyone else sure doesn't' look good. That the app the caucus used has deep ties to the DNC is not good optics.

Sure there are lots of people who will say why all these individual things aren't a problem. Frankly, this seems the real pivot turn (seen too many Dems defending dark money all of a sudden. And why was Buttigiegs Iowa win a victory but now Sanders didnt' win by enough even though he won?). But still, this adds up to people outside the Bubble. If the Dem establishment wants to not be accused of bias, maybe stop doing things that advance the narrative they are biased.

Wake me when we get to some states where black folks actually live.

Well, I am sure you will be interested to know then that among nonwhite Iowa voters, Sanders did best of anyone.

[krissey]

51. I am reading Sanders did so chicanery with the satellite vote. I will wait to see what is up with

that. I do not trust him. Further, Sanders at best, tied with Buttigieg in a caucus he should have had a landslide. He didn't come close to expectation.

[walkingman]

54. I love Bernie - I voted for him in the Primary in 2016 - My only question is

can he beat Donald Trump? I fear that simply the word "socialist" in any context is too much for the typical American voter. I vividly remember what happened to McGovern in 1972 and a lot of it was internal party politics.

[polichick]

60. Same here - but I also know that they'll slime the "gay guy," "corrupt Joe,"...

and “Pocahontas,” etc. So...