By Andy Pavey

paveyand@grinnell.edu

FINAL UPDATE: The Scarlet & Black is pleased to announce that it can at last confirm the results of all caucuses within Poweshiek County after corroborating results with the Poweshiek County Democrats. The below article, which previously covered only races within the Grinnell, IA city limits, has been expanded to cover all caucuses in the entire county. From all of us at The S&B, thank you for reading.

Bernie Sanders wins big among local Democrats

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has won the most delegates in the Poweshiek County Democratic caucuses, at 36. Sanders won three of the four Wards within the city limits of Grinnell, IA. The other was clinched by Massachussetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who ended with 28 delegates. In third, at 15 delegates, was Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who won the satellite caucus held at the Mayflower Community senior living home. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg won 14 delegates in the county, with Vice President Joe Biden trailing at 5.

At Grinnell College’s Darby Gymnasium, by far the largest contest in the County, “Uncommitted” walked away with an unexpected 4 delegates. Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, Michael Bloomberg, and Deval Patrick won no delegates in the entire county.

The results are a victory lap for Sanders, who narrowly won Poweshiek County in the 2016 caucuses against Hillary Clinton. He performed strongest within the city of Grinnell, sweeping three of the four Wards and earning 11 delegates from the primary Grinnell College caucus site. This election cycle, Sanders, embattled with health issues and the President’s impeachment trial, often relied on high-profile surrogates to get his message out to local voters. Two days before caucus night, however, he did visit Saints Rest coffee house for an event also featuring Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal, and his wife, Jane Sanders.

These are preliminary results being released in advance of the Iowa Democratic Party’s official count (which was delayed most of caucus night due to technical and quality control issues), and reflect The S&B’s original reporting from the scene of the caucuses as well as data released by the Poweshiek County Democrats early Tuesday morning.



Poweshiek County Republicans overwhelmingly vote Trump

Curious about the Republican caucus in Grinnell this evening? Spoiler alert: President Donald J. Trump won handily in Poweshiek County. But if you’re curious to hear from the participants who made it happen, check out Copy Editor Ben Mikek’s incisive coverage here.

According to his results, just 4 people out of a total 68 Republican caucus-goers voted for anyone other than President Trump. The overall number of Republicans who caucused is far fewer than Democrats, who turned out in droves to each caucus location around the County. Grinnell College’s Darby Gymnasium alone was attended by 830 people.

The final tally



And now, for the full results from the 2020 Democratic caucuses in Poweshiek County, starting with delegate totals across all Wards. Grinnell data were reported by The S&B on caucus night, while the remaining Wards were counted and released by Poweshiek County Democrats Tuesday morning.

Delegate totals*

Bernie Sanders: 36

Elizabeth Warren: 28

Amy Klobuchar: 19

Pete Buttigieg: 14

Joe Biden: 4

Uncommitted: 4

*Note: The totals released by the Poweshiek County Democrats do not include the results from the satellite caucus at the Mayflower Community senior living home. We have added these numbers to our totals with the aim of giving readers the most accurate portrait possible of how Grinnellians caucused.

Grinnell College

Bernie Sanders: 11

Elizabeth Warren: 9

Uncommitted: 4

Grinnell High School

Elizabeth Warren: 6

Bernie Sanders: 4

Amy Klobuchar: 4

Pete Buttigieg: 3

Hotel Grinnell



Bernie Sanders: 5

Elizabeth Warren: 4

Pete Buttigieg: 3

Grinnell Middle School

Bernie Sanders: 8

Elizabeth Warren: 4

Amy Klobuchar: 4

Mayflower Community



Amy Klobuchar: 4

Pete Buttigieg: 2

Elizabeth Warren: 1

Joe Biden: 1

BCMWJ Townships / Brooklyn



Pete Buttigieg: 3

Joe Biden: 2

Amy Klobuchar: 2

Bernie Sanders: 2

Elizabeth Warren: 2

Malcom / Sheridan

Pete Buttigieg: 1

Joe Biden: 1

Bernie Sanders: 1

CGWS Townships

Elizabeth Warren: 2

Amy Klobuchar: 2

Pete Buttigieg: 1

Bernie Sanders: 1

Deep River / Lincoln



Amy Klobuchar: 1

Bernie Sanders: 1

JUPS Townships

Amy Klobuchar: 2

Bernie Sanders: 2

Pete Buttigieg: 1

Montezuma



Bernie Sanders: 1

Joe Biden: 1

Pete Buttigieg: 1

Elizabeth Warren: 1

CORRECTION: This story previously claimed that Bernie Sanders had only won 7 delegates at the Grinnell Middle School venue and that 1 delegate had gone to Uncommitted voters. This was incorrect; the article has been updated to reflect new information. Sanders’s total number of delegates has also been corrected.

