Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized the Iowa caucus system in a new interview, calling it “a very undemocratic” way to elect a presidential candidate.
“It is a very undemocratic way of picking a nominee,” Clinton said about the process, adding that despite her love for the state, “it just makes no sense, and so who knows what’s going to happen.”
Clinton’s remarks continue a trend of questioning the validity of America’s electoral system after losing to President Donald Trump in 2016.
The former secretary of state complained about the historic electoral process in a podcast interview with Tisch Sussman.
“The caucuses are incredibly unpredictable. It’s really hard to poll caucuses because at the end of the day it’s not a primary. You don’t know for sure who’s going to make it out if the weather’s bad or if there’s a last-minute glitch,” she said.
Clinton narrowly won the state over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2016 but spoke frankly in the interview about how she felt about the caucus process, calling it an inferior way to elect a presidential candidate.
She said that some people were unable to show up for the night of the caucus, making it unrepresentative of the state.
“A lot of people who would vote in a primary can’t come out on an evening because they work a night shift or they have child care issues or whatever the problem might be,” she said.
Clinton also raised complaints about the fairness of the electoral system overall, warning that Republicans were trying to cheat by employing voter suppression and voter purging.
“The other side is determined to shrink the electorate, to eliminate as many Democrat-leaning voters as they possibly can,” she said. “Nobody can shut their eyes to that.”