Former Mayor Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegButtigieg maintains slim lead after second round of Iowa results releasedSanders hits Trump, predicts he delivered his ‘last’ State of the Union addressTrump touts achievements on eve of impeachment verdictMORE slightly increased his lead over Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersButtigieg maintains slim lead after second round of Iowa results releasedSanders hits Trump, predicts he delivered his ‘last’ State of the Union addressSchumer: Trump address ‘demagogic, undignified, highly partisan’MORE (I-Vt.) as the Iowa Democratic Party reported a new round of precinct-level results on Wednesday.
With almost 75 percent of precincts reporting, the ex-mayor of South Bend, Ind., now holds 26.9 percent of the delegate shares allocated across the state, the new results show. That is a tenth of a point higher than his level of support when the state party showed 71 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday.
Sanders is still nipping at Buttigiegs heels with 25.2 percent, unchanged from the last round of results. Several precincts that are likely to break for Sanders have yet to report, making the race too close to call.
The new results are good news for former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenButtigieg maintains slim lead after second round of Iowa results releasedTrump touts achievements on eve of impeachment verdictTrump bashes ‘Medicare for All’ in swipe at Sanders MORE, whose totals ticked up to 15.6 percent. Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenButtigieg maintains slim lead after second round of Iowa results releasedPressley says ‘the cruelty is the point’ for Trump in response to speechSchumer: Trump address ‘demagogic, undignified, highly partisan’MORE (D-Mass.), who finished ahead of Biden, saw her margins decline from 18.4 percent to 18.2 percent.
The leading candidates have long since left Iowa to stump for votes in New Hampshire, where voters cast primary ballots on Tuesday. But Buttigieg has declared himself the virtual winner, casting the Iowa results as a boost for a campaign that started at nothing a year ago.
Sanderss camp also claimed confidence in an impending win.
We want to thank the people of Iowa. We are gratified that in the partial data released so far its clear that in the first and second round more people voted for Bernie than any other candidate in the field, said Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver.
Sanders won over more supporters in the first round of caucus alignments, according to the existing tallies, but a combination of geographic distribution and a realignment process that gives someone who supports a nonviable candidate a second chance to influence the process meant Buttigieg won a higher share of the delegate vote released so far.
Tal Axelrod contributed to this report.