Sen. Bernie Sanders earned the first delegate votes as part of the Iowa caucuses Monday by garnering the support of a group of workers at a pork plant in the city of Ottumwa.
The Intercept reported that the workers could not attend any caucuses in the evening, so they held a satellite caucus at a union hall and cast their votes. Sanders, a Vermont independent who finished second in the 2016 Democratic race for the presidency, jumped out to an early Iowa lead by picking up four delegates from the Ottumwa caucus.
Fourteen people voted for Sanders and one chose Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
The Intercept noted that other satellite caucuses were scheduled to take place across the state ahead of the official caucus start time of 8 p.m. ET.
Ottumwa is roughly 85 miles southeast of Des Moines.
According to the RealClear Politics polling average, Sanders was in second place heading into Monday's Iowa caucuses, the first presidential selection events in the nation. Sanders has an average 23.7% support, a few points behind former Vice President Joe Biden (27%).
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.