Iowa again? -- yes, and Obama picks up more delegates

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Iowa held 99 county conventions today to elect delegates to the state convention.

Wait... what? You mean it's not over in Iowa? Weren't the caucuses held back in January? Didn't Obama win 16 delegates to Clinton's 15 and Edwards's 14? Well, sort of. Actually, those January precinct caucuses only elected delegates to the county conventions.

And, based on the results of today's conventions, the new estimated delegate allocation is as follows:

• Obama: 23
• Clinton: 16
• Edwards: 6

As NBC's election guru Chuck Todd notes, the six Edwards delegates "will be up for grabs, perhaps, at the Iowa Democratic Party state convention in June". Today's results suggest that, while Clinton held steady, Obama's significant gain was at Edwards's expense.

Todd also has the latest delegate numbers:

• Pledged Count: Obama leads 1,407-1,252
• Superdelegates: Clinton leads 253-217
• OVERALL TOTAL: Obama leads 1,624-1,505

For more on the Iowa process, see here.