Former Vice President Joe Biden pledged to continue his quest for the Democrat nomination on Monday after anecdotal evidence suggested a poor showing in the Iowa Caucuses.
Biden, who polls showed lagging top rivals prior to the contest, put up a brave front Monday evening. Even though the results were still unclear due to technical and reporting issues, the former vice president expressed confidence in his performance.
“The Iowa Democratic Party is working to get the results straight … from our indication it’s going to close,” Biden told supporters in Des Moines, Iowa. “We’re going to walk out here with our share of delegates. We don’t know exactly what it is yet, but we feel good about where we are.”
Despite the show of confidence, the former vice president did not discuss the caucus for long.
“So it’s on to New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, and well beyond. We’re in this for the long haul,” Biden said before transitioning into his normal stump speech.
The former vice president’s comments came before the official tally from the caucuses was released to the public. Although the caucus ended late Monday evening, the state party is still conducting a “quality control” assessment and refusing to release the results. Officially, the party has claimed the delay is to ensure the integrity of the caucus remains intact.
Regardless, anecdotal evidence seemed to indicate a poor showing for the former vice president. A number of unofficial results released to the media over the course of the evening had Biden losing ground to his progressive rivals, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), in Iowa’s large urban precincts.
The former vice president’s potential faltering in Iowa could have serious repercussions for his campaign. A large loss in Iowa would ensure Biden has no momentum heading into the next round of primaries.
In New Hampshire, Biden trails Sanders by double digits, while in Nevada, there has been inadequate polling to measure the full context of the race. Sanders, though, put up a strong fight in the Silver State during his failed 2016 run and still has strong support there. South Carolina appears to be a bright spot for Biden, but a recent poll in the state shows a closer-than-anticipated contest with Sanders.
Complicating matters is that the former vice president is low on campaign funds. As Breitbart News reported over the weekend, Biden had less cash on hand at the start of this year than his top 2020 rivals. The cash discrepancy and a string of losses could pose serious challenges to his strategy for remaining in the race “for the long haul.”