Buttigieg, Sanders lead in first set of Iowa Democratic caucus results

DES MOINES, United States - Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and US Senator Bernie Sanders are leading in the first set of Iowa Democratic caucus results released Tuesday afternoon.

With 62 percent of Iowa precincts reporting, Buttigieg is leading with 26.9 percent, followed by Sanders standing at 25.1 percent.

Buttigieg, speaking to supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday, said the results represent "an astonishing victory" for his campaign.

Senator Elizabeth Warren and former US Vice President Joe Biden, with 18.3 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively, round out the top four. Senator Amy Klobuchar, taking the fifth place, garners 12.6 percent.

No other candidates register in double-digit support. It's unclear when the full results will be released.

The partial results were announced almost a day after the Democratic caucuses in Iowa Monday night, the first nominating contest of the 2020 presidential primary.

An announcement of the results was delayed due to a "coding issue" in a mobile app used to collect data for the Democratic events, according to Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) Chair Troy Price.

"This was a coding error in one of the pieces on the backend, but the raw data, the data that has come in, is secure," Price told a press conference.

The state party official also apologized for the reporting of the Iowa caucus results, which has caused confusion and discontent.

"The reporting of the results and circumstances surrounding the 2020 Iowa Democratic Party caucuses were unacceptable," Price said. "As chair of the party, I apologize deeply for this."

Iowa, a Midwestern state, held Democratic and Republican caucuses Monday night, bringing tens of thousands of Iowa's registered voters to churches, public libraries, and school gyms for discussions of their presidential preferences.

Sitting President Donald Trump won the Republican caucuses, in which participants cast a vote to indicate their support, in a largely symbolic vote as he was facing no significant challenge.

On the Democratic side, there are 11 contenders seeking the party's presidential nomination.

In Iowa, they were vying for the state's 41 pledged delegates to the party's national July 13-16 convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a gathering for the party's delegates to choose its presidential nominee.

Though the delegates of Iowa only account for only 2 percent of the 1,991 national delegates a candidate needs winning to be the Democratic nominee, a strong finish across the state could help him or her stand out.