Democrats See Growing Chance of Brokered Convention

The chance of a contested Democrat convention has increased ahead of the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday after the recent Iowa caucus results suggest that none of the candidates will collect the 1,990 delegates needed to clinch the Democrat presidential nomination.

Iowa’s delayed results left five top-tier candidates in the ring, with no candidates dropping out of the race as of late. Add former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s television advertisements and there is a chance that the primary could be dragged out longer than expected.

“It’s possible, it’s quite possible,” Chris Spirou, the former New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman and veteran political operative in the state, told the Hill. “I think Bloomberg entering into this thing provides a much greater possibility of a brokered convention.”

A brokered convention can occur when no candidate has the majority of delegates to secure the presidential nomination on the first round of voting at a delegate convention and would free up delegates to vote for whomever they want on the second round of voting.

Iowa’s results so far appear to have former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a near tie for first place.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) took third while former Vice President Joe Biden placed a solid fourth.

There are still 11 candidates in the field, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and billionaire Tom Steyer (D).

No candidate reached the 30 percent mark of support after Iowa or dropped out after the caucuses, which historically narrow the field for president.

Although Bloomberg has been virtually absent from the early caucuses and primaries, his ad buys before Super Tuesday in March are putting him into double digits into the national polls, according to the Hill.

“He can be in all 14 Super Tuesday states at the same time through TV and social,” said Bob Mulholland, a Democratic National Committee member. “No other candidate has that ability.”