WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Full results of Monday's Iowa Democratic caucuses were released Thursday night, showing a tight game between Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Buttigieg held a narrow lead of 26.2 percent in state delegates. Sanders, closely following him, garnered 26.1 percent.
Both of them have claimed victory over the results.
Senator Elizabeth Warren finished third, with 18 percent of state delegates, while former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who's leading in national polls, took the fourth place with 15.8 percent.
Senator Amy Klobuchar won 12.3 percent in state delegates. No other candidates received double-digit support.
The midwestern state of Iowa held the caucuses Monday night, kicking off the 2020 presidential primary. However, the full results, collected by the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP), were delayed over technical problems.
Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, called for a recanvass of the caucus results on Thursday.
Perez, in a tweet, said that he's calling on the IDP to "immediately begin a recanvass" in light of "the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results."
Responding to Perez's proposal, IDP chair Troy Price said in a statement that the state party is prepared to conduct a recanvass "should any presidential campaign" make the request.
The Republican caucuses also took place Monday night, in which sitting President Donald Trump won easily, as he was facing no significant challenge.
The 2020 presidential race is shifting to the northeastern state of New Hampshire, whose primary is scheduled for Feb. 11.
