Pete Buttigieg is leading by a smidge.
We may be getting closer to having Maltese blood in the White House as Pete Buttigieg seems to be a favourite among the Democratic voters. The Maltese-American Presidential hopeful held top spot on Tuesday night during the first of the primaries and caucuses, starting off in Iowa.
The primaries and the caucuses kicked off in Iowa, the first of the state-by-state voting systems which will run until June, with the final candidate that will be going head to head with US President Donald Trump elected in July.
It’s still early days until the final candidate will be chosen, but the state-by-state primaries will give a good indication once more are conducted. The Iowa caucus is showing a close tie between Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders.
“With 97 per cent of Iowa’s precincts reporting, the former mayor remaining the leader of the race, with 26.2 per cent of state delegates. He’s closely trailed by Sanders, with 26.1 per cent,” CNN reports. In third place ranks Elizabetth Warren with 18.2 per cent, followed by formed Vice President Joe Biden in fourth place with 15.8 per cent.
Results were expected by Thursday morning, but votes are still being counted after the app which was being used to report results encountered technical issues. The event has been described as chaotic.
CNN reports that Buttigieg “reflected emotionally” on his success at the first primary. “This validates for a kid somewhere in a community wondering if he belongs or she belongs or they belong in their own family, that if you believe in yourself and your country, there is a lot backing up the belief,” he said.