The Iowa Caucus results have been stymied by a huge screw-up involving an app that Democrats were depending on to report voting-data on election night. That app didn’t work, and almost half of the votes have yet to be reported.
That said, the Iowa votes that have been reported show that Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar came in 5th, with only 12% of the vote and zero pledged delegates won thus-far.
At the same time, back in Minnesota, civil rights groups are calling on Klobuchar to suspend her campaign.
The controversy stems from the case of Myon Burrell, who was convicted of murder when Klobuchar was the Hennepin County attorney. Burrell, a teenager, was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of murdering 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards in 2002.
Klobuchar prosecuted Burrell, now 33, despite there supposedly being little evidence, and even though Burrell’s co-defendant admitted to the crime and said that Burrell wasn’t involved. Later, Klobuchar denied Burrell’s request to attend his mother’s funeral, claiming he was a threat to society.
Yet even the murdered girl’s father thinks Burrell may have been wrongfully convicted.
Because of the Burrell case, several local and national “civil rights” organizations—the Racial Justice Network, Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar and Communities United Against Police Brutality—all asked Klobuchar to suspend her White House bid.
It is not yet clear whether or not Klobuchar’s underwhelming Iowa results will prompt her to do so.
Willis Krumholz
Willis L. Krumholz is a fellow at Defense Priorities. He holds a JD and MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas, and works in the financial services industry. The views expressed are those of the author only. You can follow Willis on Twitter @WillKrumholz.
