Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called the delay in the results from the Iowa Caucus “unacceptable” and vowed to make sure future caucuses and primaries run smoothly.
In an interview on CNN on Friday, Perez attempted to distance himself from the mess that ensued after an error in the app used to tabulate results lead to a days-long delay in a release of the results from Iowa Caucus.
“Well, again, the Iowa Democratic Party runs the caucus, okay? And what happened was unacceptable,” Perez said.
“At the same time, we came in there, we want to make sure that everything is right,” he added, touting the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) effort help to finish counting and releasing results.
Watch the interview below:
DNC Chairman Tom Perez throws the Iowa Democratic Party under the bus.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) February 7, 2020
Berman: “How much of this is on you, chairman?”
Perez: “Well, again, the Iowa Democratic Party runs the caucus. Okay? And they — what happened was unacceptable." pic.twitter.com/0Ep9ZQzG8S
Perez also said that the DNC will “learn the lessons” of Iowa to make sure that future primary contests don’t encounter similar issues.
His comments come a day after he called on the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) to recanvass the results to ensure their accuracy. In a statement, IDP Chairman Troy Price said the party would be ready to begin a recanvass if any of the presidential candidates requested it.
Perez has come under fire for his response to the chaos that ensued after the debacle in Iowa, with some complaining about the length of time between his public comments on the Iowa Caucuses.
On Tuesday, Perez tweeted that the Nevada Democratic Party would not use the app for its caucuses later this month. It wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that he made another public comment.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) called on Perez to resign, telling Politico, “We’re a party in chaos.”
Another source told Politico that Democratic officials are upset Perez would try to throw the IDP under the bus, “Loads of state party chairs are pissed that he would treat one of their peers like this.”
The chaos after Iowa was caused by an issue in the app that was supposed to tabulate the results, which led it to report “only partial data” the night of the caucuses.
The full results were released on Thursday evening, showing former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a virtual tie for the state delegate equivalents. Both candidates have declared victory in Iowa.
