DES MOINES, Iowa — President Joe Biden has won the 2024 Iowa Democratic Caucus with 11,083 votes, according to unofficial results from the Iowa Democratic Party.
The party released its 2024 caucus results alongside 15 other states and one territory as part of Super Tuesday — a major shift in protocol for the typically first-in-the-nation state.
Here are the totals:
- Joe Biden: 11,083
- Dean Phillips: 362
- Marianne Williamson: 268
- Uncommitted: 480
Biden captured 90.8% of the votes, followed by the Uncommitted option with 3.9% of the votes.
The Iowa Democratic caucus had two stages this year: in-person "party business" on Jan. 15, and a mail-in expression of presidential preference through Feb. 19.
According to Democratic Chair Rita Hart, approximately 19,000 presidential preference ballots were requested through Feb. 19, 2024. Just 12,193. were returned as of Tuesday morning, marking a 63% turn-in rate.
The Secretary of State's latest numbers show 466,773 active registered Democrats throughout Iowa, as of March 1, 2024 — a roughly 2.5% turnout rate.
“Congratulations to Joe Biden, who overwhelmingly won the 2024 Iowa Democratic Presidential Caucus. Iowans recognize that President Biden has made great investments in communities across Iowa including in our childcare centers, roads and bridges, and by expanding broadband access in our most rural areas,” Hart said.
Why did Iowa lose first-in-the-nation caucus status?
The Iowa caucuses have long been the first step in the presidential election process, but the Iowa Democratic Caucus hit a few snags back in 2020.
On Feb. 3, 2020, results from Iowa Democrats were stagnant. Only a few tallies trickled in by early morning on Feb. 4, which the party attributed to app problems and reporting errors.
The caucus night disaster ultimately led to multiple recounts and the resignation of Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price. Final results from the 2020 Iowa Caucus were not certified until Feb. 29, 2020.
“IDP’s staff has worked hard over this past year to make sure that this year’s Presidential Caucus was as accessible as possible," Hart said. "Not only have we reached the turnout numbers that we experienced in 2012 — we’ve exceeded them. That’s clear evidence that Iowans are energized and ready to re-elect President Biden.”
What is Super Tuesday?
Super Tuesday is the presidential primary calendar day with the most delegates up for grabs. In total, 16 states and one territory will be making their preferences known.
For Republicans, 854 of 2,429 total delegates will be designated on Super Tuesday, while Democrats will award a whopping 1,420 delegates.
Though both party's front runners are unlikely to clinch their nomination, they can get pretty close.
According to the Associated Press, the earliest Biden could clinch Democratic party nomination would be March 19 if he hits 1,968 delegates — the incumbent's so-called "magic number".
Trump could reach his needed 1,215 by March 12 at the earliest.