Iowa Democratic Party chairman resigns

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price resigned Wednesday in the wake of the state’s chaotic caucuses last week.

“While it is my desire to stay in this role and see this process through to completion, I do believe it is time for the Iowa Democratic Party to begin looking forward, and my presence in my current role makes that more difficult,” Price said in a letter to the Democratic Party’s State Central Committee. 

“Therefore, I will resign as chair of the Iowa Democratic Party effective upon the election of my replacement,” he added. 

Price’s resignation is effective following the election of an interim chairman on Saturday at a meeting of the State Central Committee.

Price called his decision to resign “one of the toughest decisions” he had ever had to make.

He also wrote that he took responsibility for the issues surrounding the caucuses but added that the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) “is not the only party to blame for what happened last week.” 

“We worked collaboratively with our partners, our vendors, and the Democratic National Committee in this process, and I am confident the review will be able to determine exactly what went wrong, what went right, and how we can avoid this from ever happening again,” he said. 

The results from the caucuses were delayed, which the IDP blamed on an app that was being used by precincts to send results to the state. The party also identified some inconsistencies in reporting, which it said at the time were under review. 

Price said in his letter there is “no doubt that the process of reporting results did not work.” 

“It was simply unacceptable. It is why I called for an independent review of the decisions and processes that lead to this failure,” Price said. 

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has said he will not be resigning after the Iowa caucuses, despite calls from some members of his party to do so. 

The IDP announced earlier Wednesday it would begin a recanvass of the caucus results Sunday after requests from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. 

Current results show Buttigieg with a narrow lead over Sanders in the state delegate equivalent count. Both candidates have declared victory, with Sanders arguing he received more total votes than Buttigieg.