Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) didn’t have much time for former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s apparent Iowa caucus victory declaration Monday evening, partly because his campaign’s internal data suggests otherwise.Even while results from the Iowa Democratic caucus were delayed thanks to a series of mishaps, Buttigieg addressed his supporters and told them all indications pointed to them leaving Iowa “victorious.” Sanders found it odd that his competitor made such a speech.> On his campaign plane in Des Moines, due to take off for New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders says he feels confident in his position based on internal numbers, but of Buttigieg:> > ”I don’t know how anybody declares victory before you have an official statement as to election results.” pic.twitter.com/oBTKvrKmS5> > — Ruby Cramer (@rubycramer) February 4, 2020Meanwhile, the Sanders campaign released some of their internal data collection findings, which suggests Sanders is actually the one on pace to win, although Buttigieg isn’t far behind. Those numbers also have Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a comfortable third place, while former Vice President Joe Biden tumbled into a relatively distant fourth after the final alignment.> Here’s Bernie Sanders speaking to reporters on his plane out of Iowa, with the latest numbers https://t.co/xtyJ0SM4Ms> > — Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) February 4, 2020The Biden situation at least is in line with reports about The Des Moines Register’s final state poll which was never released because of an interviewing error, but throughout all the chaos there’s no telling if the Sanders campaign is actually on the right track.More stories from theweek.com Trump just won the Iowa Democratic caucuses Should financial markets be freaked out by coronavirus? America is doing so much better than you think
