Sanders slams Buttigieg's victory declaration, campaign releases internal Iowa data suggesting a win

Bernie Sanders.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) didn't have much time for former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg's apparent Iowa caucus victory declaration Monday evening, partly because his campaign's internal data suggests otherwise.

Even while results from the Iowa Democratic caucus were delayed thanks to a series of mishaps, Buttigieg addressed his supporters and told them all indications pointed to them leaving Iowa "victorious." Sanders found it odd that his competitor made such a speech.

Meanwhile, the Sanders campaign released some of their internal data collection findings, which suggests Sanders is actually the one on pace to win, although Buttigieg isn't far behind. Those numbers also have Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a comfortable third place, while former Vice President Joe Biden tumbled into a relatively distant fourth after the final alignment.

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The Biden situation at least is in line with reports about The Des Moines Register's final state poll which was never released because of an interviewing error, but throughout all the chaos there's no telling if the Sanders campaign is actually on the right track.

Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.