Rivals warn Sanders campaign plans to game Iowa results

[brooklynite]

Politico

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Rival campaigns are sounding the alarm that Bernie Sanders could be planning to claim victory on Monday night — before the caucuses are concluded.

It’s a move, they say, that could have a significant effect on the outcome.

Sanders and his team have made clear their intention to tout the results of the first round of caucus voting Monday, even though the Iowa Democratic Party stresses that the only number that matters is the final delegate count.

Aides with two top-tier campaigns told POLITICO they worry the Sanders campaign or other pro-Sanders forces — which will be receiving unofficial precinct results from allies in real time — will disseminate that information through social media or publicly claim victory after the first vote, an act that could distort the eventual results in a variety of ways.

A claim of victory after the first vote could encourage supporters of weaker candidates to leave the caucuses early without realigning with another candidate. Or it could create an artificial bandwagon effect by encouraging some caucus-goers to jump to Sanders’ side under the belief that he will be the victor.

[JoeOtterbein]

1. Worried?

Or just pre-game spin?

[brooklynite]

2. Are you asking what my motive is?

Answer: I post news-worthy stories about the campaign. You may have noticed.

[JoeOtterbein]

7. I was replying to the news you posted. That Bernie's rivals where worried.

I thought that was what you where reporting.

Anyway, do you think they are really worried about Bernie's caucus strategy? Or just trying to spin a possible loss tomorrow?

[MrsCoffee]

15. No that was all your spin.

Those blinders make it hard to read what other people actually post I guess.

[Thekaspervote]

11. You do.. and so appreciated!

[dchill]

3. Which side of this stir has the biggest spoon?

[lapucelle]

5. Schumlin called it.

“What I’ve seen in Bernie’s politics is he and his team feel they’re holier than the rest. In the end, they will play dirty because they think that they pass a purity test that Republicans and most Democrats don’t pass,” said Shumlin. “What you’re seeing now is, in the end, even if he considers you a friend, like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie will come first. That’s the pattern we’ve seen over the years in Vermont, and that’s what we are seeing now nationally.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/16/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-feud-100129

[DanTex]

6. Baseless anonymous attacks on Bernie from other campaigns.

All the campaigns are going to spin the results. That’s what campaigns do. But somehow it’s a sinister thing if Bernie does it.

More of the usual hypocritical anti-Bernie stuff.

[JoeOtterbein]

9. +1000!

You have a sharp political eye!

[TexasTowelie]

13. How are the "attacks" baesless?

In the second sentence you stated that all of the campaigns are going to spin the result. That seems like the "attacks" have a firm base--even in your own opinion.

[ehrnst]

14. If any other campaign was to try to call the results before the votes were counted...

The fur would fly, because that's not "spinning results," that would be called trying to influence the outcome using "spin."

Because it's Sanders' campaign, you think that it's different because REASONS.

Also known as a double standard.

[Iliyah]

8. BS won't have to do anything . . .

The Republicans will take up the slack.

[LiberalFighter]

10. I support you.

[lapucelle]

12. The AP is now reporting the story.

New Rules have also left the campaigns working in overdrive to set expectations. For the first time, the Iowa Democratic Party will release three sets of results: who voters align with at the start of the night; who they pick after voters supporting nonviable candidates get to make a second choice; and the number of state delegate equivalents each candidate gets.

The new rules were mandated by the Democratic National Committee as part of a package of changes sought by Sanders following his loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential primaries. The revisions were designed to make the caucus system more transparent and to make sure that even the lowest-performing candidates get credit for all the votes they receive. But party officials in Iowa and at the DNC have privately expressed concerns that multiple campaigns will spin the results in their favor, potentially creating chaos on caucus night.

The Associated Press will declare a winner in Iowa based on the number of state delegates each candidate wins. The AP will also report all three results

https://apnews.com/ce049651af41d729193cf574be5465af