Monday night was a disaster for Iowa's Democratic Party. But the Iowa Republican Party wasn't celebrating the embarrassing delays in the Democrats' caucus reporting.
The Iowa Democratic Party debuted a new system that was supposed to increase transparency by reporting how candidates fared in the first round of caucusing, where they ended up after realignment, and how many delegates each candidate won. Instead, the party got ire from frustrated candidates and cable news shows, mockery by President Trump's campaign, and conspiracy theories.
Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, told everyone to calm down. "Look, if there is something nefarious, then everybody is gonna be able to see that, everybody's gonna see that by checking the results here," he said on KDSM-TV. "As long as we've got a paper trail, as long as it's a (transparent) process, everybody's gonna be able to follow through and make sure we understand what is going on here."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Even Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a hardline conservative with a conspiratorial bent, counseled the Iowa Democrats to slow down and get this right so the "Iowa Caucuses can remain first in the nation." Iowa Republicans, like Iowa Democrats, zealously guard their first-in-the-nation caucus, and that special status was already under attack before Monday's debacle.
The Iowa caucuses survived a Republican fiasco eight years ago, and this too shall pass, maybe.
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky missionTalking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogsThe Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
Sudoku medium: August 31, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
