McSally: Slow Iowa caucus result of ‘buffoonery’ and ‘incompetence’

PHOENIX — When Sen. Martha McSally woke up at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, she expected to see results from the Iowa caucus.

McSally said she was shocked by the almost day-long delay before the release of the first batch of results on Tuesday afternoon.

The Republican said on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos and Chad that the slow process was the result of “incompetence” and “buffoonery” from the Iowa Democratic Party.

“This is unfortunately the Democrat party in Iowa that bought an app that didn’t test it and that didn’t take the Department of Homeland Security’s offer to even test it,” McSally said.

When results were released Tuesday at about 3 p.m. Arizona time, only 62% of precincts had reported, and there was no firm timeline for when the remaining 38% would be released.

During a private conference call with campaigns earlier in the day, state party chairman Troy Price declined to answer pointed questions about the specific timeline — even whether it would be a matter of days or weeks.

South Bend (Indiana) Mayor Pete Buttigieg held a slight lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders for the top spot with delegates. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden were third and fourth, respectively.

Iowa has proven to be a good measuring stick for candidates recently — especially Democrats.

Every Democratic caucus winner in Iowa since 2000 has gone on to win the party’s presidential nomination.

Price says the party is collecting paper records from more than 1,600 caucus sites “to make sure we have all of the documented information in place.”

“They count ballots faster and with more accuracy in Afghanistan for crying out loud,” McSally said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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