Perez: Iowa recanvass push is 'about accuracy,' not stopping Bernie
February 7, 2020
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez pushed back on Friday against accusations that he only called for a recanvass of the Iowa caucuses once it became clear that Sen. Bernie Sanders was gaining on former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg as the final results were being tabulated.
"That's just not accurate," Perez told CNN in response to a question about the allegation made by some Sanders supporters. "I mean, we're moving — we're helping — we're all about accuracy. I'm not about how it affects one candidate or another."
Perez on Thursday called for an immediate recanvass after the Iowa Democratic Party's bungled reporting of caucus results, tweeting that "Enough is enough" and emphasizing the need to "assure public confidence" in the outcome.
Both Buttigieg and Sanders have declared victory in Iowa, with the state party releasing numbers on Thursday showing 100 percent of precincts reporting. According to those tallies, the former South Bend mayor was outperforming Sanders by just over 1.5 state delegate equivalents, although Sanders was ahead in the final popular vote count by about 2,500 votes in the final alignment raw vote and over 6,000 in the first alignment raw vote.
Perez on Friday insisted his decision to demand a recanvass was unrelated to the steady trickle of caucus results from the Iowa Democratic Party in recent days indicating a tightening race for state delegate equivalents — which the party and most media outlets use to determine the winner.
"I've spoken to Sen. Sanders. I've spoken to Mayor Buttigieg. I've spoken to other candidates. And I've told them our north star is accuracy," Perez said. "We want to make sure that if there's another issue in another county, that there's a process. And that's why we've asked the state party if there are other issues that emerge, let's take a look at them."
Source: https://www.politico.com/
