Former mayor of South Bend, Ind. Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) were nearly tied for first place in the Iowa Caucus with 97 percent of the results counted as of Thursday morning.
While Buttigieg retained the lead with 26.2 percent of the vote and 550 state delegate equivalents, Sanders was right on his heels with 26.1 percent and 547 state delegates. Earlier reports with over 60 percent of results counted had shown Buttigieg clearly ahead of Sanders.
78 state counties have reported all of their results, while precincts in 28 counties were still yet to finalize their tallies. Of the 78 reporting counties, Buttigieg was victorious in 59, with broad support across the state of Iowa. Sanders led in 19 counties, with support mostly concentrated near the cities of Des Moines, Sioux City, and Cedar Rapids.
Buttigieg had declared victory on Monday night before official results were released.
“We don’t know all the results,” the mayor told supporters, “but we know, by the time it’s all said and done, Iowa, you have shocked the nation, because by all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious.”
The Sanders campaign, meanwhile, had released its own internal polling figures in an attempt to show that the progressive candidate had won the primary.
“We recognize that this does not replace the full data from the Iowa Democratic Party, but we believe firmly that our supporters worked too hard for too long to have the results of that work delayed,” Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver said at the time.
The New Hampshire primary will take place on Tuesday, February 11. Democratic candidates rushed to the state shortly after the Iowa Caucus to drum up support.
It remains unclear when the remaining results will be released.