Republicans gloat over Iowa caucus meltdown

Republicans wasted little time hitting the Democrats over the problems plaguing the results from the Iowa caucuses. With results delayed as state party officials worked to straighten out "inconsistencies," the Trump campaign issued a statement calling the situation "the sloppiest train wreck in history."

Mark Meadows, a conservative congressman from North Carolina, hinted the problems were a sign that voters shouldn't trust Democrats to govern. "Folks – this is the party that wants to run your healthcare, control your employment, decide what kind of car you can drive, and more," Meadows tweeted. 

Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, took aim with a tweet that said simply, "Cluster."

Voting in Iowa got underway at 8 p.m. ET and typically early results would have begun rolling in after an hour or so, with final results a few hours later.

Instead, a little after 10:30 p.m., the Iowa Democratic Party acknowledged a problem: "We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results," a statement from the party read. "In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate that all results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report." It stressed there was not a "hack or an intrusion."

Joe Biden's campaign was also sharp in its criticism, referring in a statement "considerable flaws" and "acute failures" in the process.

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• Ted Cruz
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