'On to New Hampshire.' Democratic candidates not waiting for Iowa outcome to give their speeches

Show Caption Hide Caption Candidates give speeches amid Democratic Iowa caucus delays With no winner declared on the night of the Democratic Iowa caucuses amid delays, the candidates still gave speeches.

WASHINGTON – With the results of the nation’s first presidential nominating contest uncertain, Democratic candidates emerged one after the other in Iowa on Monday to cast the unsatisfying delay in the most positive light possible for their campaigns.

"I have a strong feeling that at some point the results will be announced," Sen. Bernie Sanders joked with supporters in Des Moines. "And when those results are announced, I have a good feeling we’re going to be doing very, very well here in Iowa."

In a series of statements that arrived hours after the caucusing in Iowa had mostly wrapped up, the Iowa Democratic Party cited "inconsistencies in the reporting" of results to explain a delay that left the nation waiting for answers. But the candidates – not wanting to miss the opportunity to appear on stage after the high-profile caucuses – couldn’t wait to deliver their addresses, and to focus on the next contest.

“Now, it is on to New Hampshire,” said Sanders, who enjoyed late momentum in the Hawkeye State.

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It’s rare for candidates to speak without knowing the outcome of a contest, and the campaigns were all forced to rip up their victory and concession speeches. Many of the candidates delivered addresses that closely mirrored remarks they have been giving for months on the trial, along with gently ribbing the process in Iowa.

“It's too close to call so I’m just going to tell you what I do know,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren told her supporters.

“You won!” one of her supporters screamed in response.

Behind the scenes, however, the campaigns were scrambling to understand why the party had put a hold on the results – delaying a win and the momentum that comes with placing in Iowa. Most of the candidates were expected to quickly shift focus to New Hampshire, where voters will hold their primary on Feb. 11.

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"We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results," said Mandy McClure, a spokeswoman for the state Democratic party, who acknowledged problems with an app that was to be used to tabulate results. "This is simply a reporting issue, the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an intrusion."

The state party scheduled a meeting with the campaigns to brief them on the delay. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign fired off a letter to those same officials calling for “full explanations and relevant information regarding the methods of quality control you are employing.”

Officials with President Donald Trump’s campaign used the delay to question the process Democrats used to pick their nominee. Trump has often accused Democrats, without evidence, of rigging the 2016 Democratic primary for Hillary Clinton. Some Trump supporters began making similar claims on Monday.

“Democrats are stewing in a caucus mess of their own creation with the sloppiest train wreck in history,” said Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. “It would be natural for people to doubt the fairness of the process.”

Trump, who does not face a significant challenge for the GOP nomination, handily won the Republican caucus in Iowa.

But for the Democratic candidates, neither winning nor waiting was an option.

“Some way, some how I’m going to get on a plane tonight to New Hampshire,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the first candidate to address her supporters.

“We’re going to be here, it looks like, a really long time tonight,” Klobuchar said as she promised to head to the next campaign stop in New Hampshire.

The last of the Democratic frontrunners to speak, Pete Buttigieg, went farther than his competitors in claiming victory.

"We don’t know all the results. But we know by the time it's all said and done, Iowa, you have shocked the nation," Buttigieg told his supporters. "Because, by all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious."