Sanders Calls for Raw Count after Virtual Tie with Clinton

Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton squeaked out a win in the Iowa Democratic Party caucus by just 0.2 percent, prompting Bernie Sanders to call for a raw vote count on Tuesday to definitively determine the outcome of the virtual tie between the two candidates.

With all Iowa precincts reporting, Clinton beat Sanders by the remarkably narrow margin of 49.8 percent to 49.6 percent.

Sanders’ campaign team has said that they do not plan to contest the outcome, but would like more information about what happened in the vote. A raw vote count is typically not released in Iowa, but the progressive senator from Vermont has said that he would like that data to be made public.

Sanders said that while he hoped the vote count was “honest,” he said it was not clear which candidate won the popular vote in such a close race and urged that “as much information as possible should be made available.”

Sanders’ campaign is still considering whether to request a recount.

The Democratic Party does not count paper ballots for the primary nomination, but caucuses to select the representative. In light of a deadlock tie between Clinton and Sanders in some precincts after caucus debates, six precincts tossed a coin to determine the winner, and Clinton won all six tosses.

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The dead heat between Clinton and Sanders came after Sanders made major advances in Iowa where polls had shown him at least 40 points behind the frontrunner candidate.

Sanders applauded the virtual tie as a significant accomplishment for the campaign and declared that Iowa had launched a “political revolution.”

“I think the people of Iowa have sent a very profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment and, by the way, to the media establishment,” Sanders said in his speech before results were final during caucuses on Monday night.

Sanders swept 84 percent of the youth vote in Iowa.

The Iowa caucuses also saw an unexpected victory for Republican candidate Ted Cruz, who pulled ahead of frontrunner Donald Trump.

The presidential nomination now moves to New Hampshire, where Clinton is expected to face a tougher race as Sanders leads in the polls.

New Hampshire holds its primary next week.

WATCH: Bernie Sanders Sweeps 84% of Youth in Iowa