The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion The most important Iowa result is in. Democrats should worry.

By
Associate editor and columnist|
February 4, 2020 at 9:26 a.m. EST
David Axelrod, senior advisor to former President Barack Obama, says the presidential nominating process is flawed but should not change too much. (Video: Ben Derico/The Washington Post, Photo: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg/The Washington Post)

DES MOINES — No one knows how long it will be before it is clear which Democratic presidential candidate won the Iowa caucuses.

But the most important tally of the night has been reported, and it should worry Democrats.

Even as the Iowa Democratic Party was trying to sort out the chaos in its reporting system, a party official announced that turnout was “on pace” with what they had seen in 2016.