DES MOINES – Is the Iowa caucus dead?

The nation's first contest in presidential elections, the Iowa caucus, has long drawn floods of campaign staff and media attention as political parties try to narrow their primary field. But as officials were still unable to declare a winner Tuesday evening, nearly 24 hours after caucus-goers began gathering, some questioned whether the Hawkeye state should be first to vote.

"This fiasco means the end of the caucuses as a significant American political event. The rest of the country was already losing patience with Iowa anyway and this cooks Iowa's goose. Frankly, it should," David Yepsen, a famed and former Des Moines Register columnist, told Politico.

Monday's Democratic caucus was fraught with chaos as the Iowa Democratic Party delayed releasing official results because of widespread reporting problems amid new rules and a new app.

"We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results," Mandy McClure, communications director for the state party, said in the statement.

Partial results released Tuesday evening showed former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders appearing to be the early leaders with about 62% of Iowa Democratic precincts reporting.

With New Hampshire's primary and news of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address and impeachment trial all around the corner, the weight of the results may be lost and Iowa's status as the bellwether state in question.

'It was a total mess':Caucusing is long over, but Iowa still doesn't have a winner

"I’d say there is going to be a real movement to change the order of primaries. I really do believe it and I never believed it before," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

"Iowa has always been the gold standard. They've always done the best job, and you saw last night what the best job can look like," added Elaine Kamarck, director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution.

'A total mess': Campaigns and Iowans criticize no results

The lack of results on caucus night also drew complaints from campaigns. Candidates scrambled to take the stage and spin the non-results as a victory in speeches to their supporters.

"What happened tonight made the argument for itself. Nobody can deny this is a broken way to do it. It was a total mess," said former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, a surrogate for Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign.

Castro also said debate thresholds, the order of states holding their contests and whether a state employs a caucus versus a primary should all be evaluated.

Biden's campaign slammed the process, too, saying the “considerable flaws” holding up election results demand a complete and speedy answer.

More on Iowa caucus:We don't know yet who won the Iowa caucuses. But here's what we do know.

“We appreciate that you plan to brief the campaigns momentarily on these issues, and we plan to participate,” Dana Remus, general counsel for the former vice president’s campaign, wrote in a letter to the party Monday as delays extended into early Tuesday morning. “However, we believe that the campaigns deserve full explanations and relevant information regarding the methods of quality control you are employing, and an opportunity to respond before any official results are released.”

"This is a disaster," Mathew Johnson, a 46-year-old Urbandale resident, said as he exited Sanders' caucus night party. "To the rest of the country, we look like idiots."

"Our credibility is facing a test," said Iowa strategist Jeff Link.

Outside Iowa, others raised similar concerns. "I think the Democratic caucus in Iowa is a quirky, quaint tradition which should come to an end," Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said on MSNBC.

Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who came in third in Iowa in 2004, responded "basically yes" when asked on CNN if Iowa should no longer be the first state to vote, The Washington Post reported.

Iowa's U.S. senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and its governor, Kim Reynolds, all Republicans, defended the caucus, however.

"Iowa’s unique role encourages a grassroots nominating process that empowers everyday Americans, not Washington insiders or powerful billionaires," they said in a joint statement. "The face-to-face retail politics nature of Iowa’s caucus system also encourages dialogue between candidates and voters that makes our presidential candidates accountable for the positions they take and the records they hold."

Dianne Bystrom, director emerita of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, said she believes some criticisms of the caucuses were harsh.

"The Iowa caucuses are always under a watchful scrutiny," Bystrom said. "Any time there is a mix-up or a delay – coupled with the fact that the Des Moines Register had to turn back their poll – it does make people impatient."

What happened during Iowa caucuses?

The chaos unfolded slowly on Monday as Iowans gathered at more than 1,600 precinct caucuses.

A new smartphone app led to promises of quick results as it aimed to help precinct leaders report numbers back to the party.

But technical issues arose. A number of precinct leaders reportedly had issues using and logging into the app. Polk County Democratic Chairman Sean Bagniewski told the Des Moines Register that problems with reporting "became the norm for the evening."

Precinct chairs were provided a PIN to test the mobile app, which was different from a login required for Caucus Day. Some might have entered the wrong login credentials Monday, creating temporary problems, said Bret Niles, chairman of the Linn County Democratic Party.

Around 10:30 p.m., McClure issued the statement on finding inconsistencies in the three data sets and said results would be delayed.

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price briefed reporters around 1 a.m. and said the process was taking longer "to ensure we are eventually able to report results with full confidence."

In a statement Tuesday morning, Price said the app was secure and not compromised by a cyberattack. A coding issue in the reporting system caused only partial data to be reported, Price said.

"This issue was identified and fixed. The application’s reporting issue did not impact the ability of precinct chairs to report data accurately," he said.

The party also used paper documentation to verify the app data, Price said, who promised results later Tuesday.

Why is Iowa first to vote?

Iowa was not always the first state to hold a presidential contest, but it has almost always held caucuses for selecting presidents, instead of the now more common primary system.

Democrats decided after a tumultuous 1968 party convention to open up their process by lessening party leaders' power and involving more grassroots activists.

In Iowa, some were frustrated with the caucus process which led to changes that included holding separate district and state conventions. As a result, the whole caucus process needed to start earlier.

In 1972, Iowa became the first state to hold a presidential contest. At the time, Sen. George McGovern’s campaign manager Gary Hart saw the potential benefit of an early win. Four years later, Jimmy Carter's campaign took a similar approach to Iowa and went on to win the presidency.

Ever since, Iowa has fought to hold its first-in-the-nation status as other states have tried to move their contests earlier to become the national litmus test.

"Iowa caucuses are first-in-the-nation mainly because the state insists on remaining first," says Kathie Obradovich, the Des Moines Register's opinion editor.

Would Iowa ever switch to a presidential primary?

Long before the reporting issues Monday night, state caucus systems for both parties have had targets on their back, said Brookings' Kamarck.

If Iowa were to give up its presidential caucus, though, it would lose its first-in-the-nation status as New Hampshire law requires its primary to be held before any other primary contest.

"If they become a primary, New Hampshire will not let them go first. They are first by virtue of the fact that they are a caucus," Kamarck said.

The irony in the reporting issues on Monday is that they were largely caused by reforms that Iowa instituted to combat past criticisms around caucuses not being transparent, she said.

In prior years, only delegate numbers were reported, but in 2020, numbers for the first and second alignments and the number of state delegate equivalents assigned to each candidate based on those results were required.

Yet even if the reporting issues didn't arise, Kamarck said concerns would still be raised around caucuses' accessibility and turnout.

"I'm not going to say it's the death (of the Iowa caucus), but it sure doesn't help for what was already a difficult situation for caucus states," she added.

Iowa caucus has been delayed before

In 2012, Mitt Romney was declared the Republican winner after 1:30 a.m. Two weeks later, a recount showed Rick Santorum was the winner.

Hillary Clinton was named the Democratic winner around 2:30 a.m. in 2016 as Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire made the announcement. The Associated Press didn't call the race until the next day.

"It’s important that we deliver accurate numbers as quickly as possible," Link said. "I think it is smarter to wait and deliver credible results because irreparably harming a candidate – which has been done in the past – is not an acceptable option."

What did Trump say about Iowa caucus?

President Donald Trump's campaign quickly criticized the delay, calling it the "sloppiest train wreck in history."

"Democrats are stewing in a caucus mess of their own creation with the sloppiest train wreck in history," Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in an emailed statement, adding that there were concerns about "the fairness of the process."

"The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is 'Trump,'" the president tweeted early Tuesday.

Miller reported from McLean, Virginia.; Pfannenstiel reports for the Des Moines Register.

Contributing: Clare Ulmer, Lee Rood and Jason Clayworth, Des Moines Register; Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY.