2020 Update -The state of the Democrat’s Presidential Race after Iowa(we think)
Bottom Line: Where. To. Begin. Well, there are results now in Iowa. That’s something.So is the state of the DNC and the Democrat’s field.The 2020 race for Democrats vying to become the party nominee for President, is actually race to 1990. That’s the required number of pledged delegates required to clinch the nomination without a contested convention. There are two types of delegates potentially in play for Democrats seeking the nomination: automatic, or “superdelegates” and pledged delegates. Superdelegates will only come into play if a candidate doesn’t clinch 50% plus one of the pledged delegates, or 1990 of the 3,979 available pledged delegates available in races during the primary season. Iowa provided the opportunity to win up to 41 pledged delegates. They’re awarded based on the performance of the candidates.
As the race to 1990 has begun, here’s the scorecard after the first state with still just 71% reporting.
Pledged Delegates #needed to win % of remaining needed
Buttigieg: 10 1980 50
Sanders: 10 1980 50
Warren: 4 1986 50.2
No other candidates performed well enough to win pledged delegates in Iowa as of now. That includes Joe Biden who currently shows 4th in Iowa with just over 15% of the vote. What’s clear is that the Iowa race will come down to Buttigieg and Sanders. The margin at the top is still close enough that when...(if?) Democrats complete the Iowa tallies the overall winner is still in doubt.