Buttigieg wins in one precinct

 Some 354 folks gather in Bettendorf 52 to caucus on Feb. 3.

 Hands up for Joe Biden at the caucus.

Initial results; the numbers changed where some candidates weren't "viable."

Some 354 folks from Bettendorf, Iowa, filed into a big room at the Waterfront Convention Center. After some formalities, they moved to various parts of the room and sorted themselves into groups of support. The final numbers:

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 111 people
Sen. Bernie Sanders, 81
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 80
Former Vice President Joe Biden, 79


By use of a complicated formula, that gave Buttigieg and Sanders each 3 delegates to the Scott County convention; Klobuchar and Biden each got 2.
 This, of course, is just one precinct of 1,600 in Iowa.

Senator Elizabeth Warren was never viable in Bettendorf 52, a large precinct in an affluent city.


The Iowa Caucuses are again having issues with final results, but the "boots on the ground" worked fairly smoothly in Bettendorf 52, anyway.


The convention center was jammed, and in hindsight, either a larger venue or alternative sites might have been chosen. I covered the caucuses for a newspaper organization, and was surprised by the number of people who showed up in support of our democracy. Newspapers report the doors were closed while potential caucus-goers were still trying to find a place to park.


In Bettendorf, the busy session was filled with folks of different shapes, sizes and cultures. For example: A group of students from Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., studied the caucus process with their instructor. A person flew in from New Zealand to work as a volunteer. I was seated next to a firefighter from Omaha, who was in town to support Biden. Those guys are also in New Hampshire at Biden's events. These are just a few of the many examples of the world-wide interest in this process.

Some thoughts:
1. The emphasis on using a new technology is a focus, but in my observations, new technology is wonderful, as long as it works.

2. At our caucus, the precinct chairs for each candidate counted the supporters who gathered. That number was provided to caucus chair, Jeff. After that, the supporters for each candidate were handed cards, supplied by the state's Democratic Party. They filled out one side of the card at first with the name of their chosen candidate.
             If that candidate was not viable, they chose another and filled out the back side of the card. These cards seem to be what is being counted as a back-up to the failed app.

3. When 354 people showed up, it meant the "viability," or "15%" level was 54. After the first vote Senator Elizabeth Warren attracted 36 supporters. That meant they joined another candidate. In Bettendorf 52, that mainly was for Senator Bernie Sanders.

4. Mayor Pete Buttigieg's folks in Bettendorf were extremely passionate and enthusiastic, as were those for Sanders. Pushy, but also polite.

5. Iowa may indeed lose its "first-in-the-nation" status. But there's no better way to see democracy in action through the caucus process. It's just hard to translate that passion, electronically.