npr | Right now we're going to hear from the campaign of former Vice President
Joe Biden. Symone Sanders is a senior adviser to Biden, and she joins
me now from New Hampshire.
KELLY: Glad to have you with us. So you have been sharing some of
your campaign's projections on Twitter today. I've been following along.
You said you're thrilled with Joe Biden's performance in Iowa. The
other candidates are citing different projections, ones that make them
look good, that don't look so good for Biden. So are you confident that
when the numbers eventually come out, Joe Biden will be a front-runner
in Iowa?
SANDERS: Look - we are very confident about our internal data.
But I'd also like to caution folks to understand that any data any
campaign is sharing is based on internal data. These are not the final
numbers.
SANDERS: The reality is, we don't know the final numbers, which is
why our campaign sent a letter to the Iowa Democratic Party last night
urging and imploring that they check the data, check again and
triple-check the data before releasing anything. So I know that there
are reports that there is some type of data coming today, shortly, soon,
in the coming hour.
KELLY: Right.
SANDERS: But the reality is, we need total numbers from precincts
all across the state. There was a real breakdown in the process last
night, from what was happening at precincts on the ground in Iowa to the
app that the Iowa Democratic Party was using to the backup phone system
and even with the collecting and recording and filling out a
presidential preference card.
KELLY: Right. To your point...
SANDERS: So we really need to make sure we get this right.
KELLY: ...They're telling us that when they do put out results
about an hour or so from now, we still won't get all of them. These will
be partial results. So we still won't have full clarity about what
exactly happened in Iowa and what it means going forward in the race.
SANDERS: And I think that's unfortunate. I think the voters are
owed clarity, frankly, but - and the caucusgoers in Iowa. But, you know,
we left Iowa last night, again, as I've said on Twitter and all day
today, proud of our organization. We're in New Hampshire today. We have a
full day of campaign events. We will be campaigning here aggressively
over the next week. And we're looking forward to the primary on Tuesday.
We've always thought...
KELLY: May I just press you on this for a minute...
SANDERS: I would just say, we've always thought...
KELLY: If I may, may I just press you on this? Because you said
this is a shame for the voters. What about for candidates? Does the
delay in results steal momentum from whoever ultimately comes out on top
in Iowa?
SANDERS: I mean, I think that's a hypothetical. The reality is,
this process has never just been about Iowa. It's not just about New
Hampshire. And it's not just about Nevada or South Carolina. These first
four nominating contests, we have always said, should be viewed as
individual parts of one whole. They should be viewed as a package. And
you don't get the full depth and breadth of anyone's strength or the
lack thereof with just the Iowa results or just the New Hampshire
results, frankly.
Since 1992, the Democratic nominee - no Democratic nominee has
been the nominee without a substantial amount of votes from the African
American community. You don't get that coming out of Iowa or New
Hampshire.
0 comments:
Post a Comment