Ted Cruz of Texas scored an upset victory over businessman Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, the first contest of the campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
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The victory in the first Republican nominating contest ensures that Cruz will be a force in the presidential race for weeks to come – if not longer.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, viewed by many Republicans as a more mainstream alternative, nipped at Mr Trump’s heels in third place with 23.1%.
With voting in the Iowa caucuses starting on February 1, the race for the Democratic nomination has become neck-and-neck between Hillary Clinton and her chief rival, Sen.
In a show of financial strength, Sanders’ campaign announced Sunday it had raised $20 million in January alone. He took third place with less than one percent.
With 99% of Iowa precincts reporting, both NBC and ABC called the race for Cruz shortly before 10:30 p.m. ET. “The people of this great state have sent a very clear message”.
While she may symbolize the Washington establishment to her critics and opponents, Hillary Clinton is not the same candidate she was in 2008.
Trump has led the Republican polls for months, savaging early favorite Jeb Bush, and putting the rest of the large field – 12 in all – on the back foot.
“I’m just honored, I’m really honored”, Trump told his supporters.
Trump’s lead in New Hampshire shows little sign of abating, but as in Iowa, recent polling there suggests a sizable chunk of the electorate has doubts about him as the party’s standard bearer.
“We’ve known her for so many years through thick and thin”, Moel said. But a loss in New Hampshire, which borders Sanders’ home state of Vermont, will be easier for Clinton to discount as regional favoritism. And we were taking on the most powerful politician organization in the United States of America.
The results could have ramifications in upcoming races. Clinton hoped for a strong finish against Sanders to vanquish his insurgent candidacy.
Rubio earned about as much support from new voters as did Cruz. and was the preferred candidate of about 3 in 10 Iowa Republicans who made up their minds in the last week.
“We finished second, and I want to tell you something, I feel just honoured. Personally, I think one, two or three in Iowa is a win”.
Rick Santorum eked out a win over eventual nominee Mitt Romney, and Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee easily won the contest in 2008 – before eventually losing to Arizona Sen.
After months of campaigning during which Trump and other political outsiders have ripped up the script, voters in this midwestern state filed into church basements, school gymnasiums and libraries to have their say in the caucuses.
Market reaction in Asia to the results was muted, with USA stock futures down around half a percent. “That’s a fact”, Sanders told volunteers and supporters ahead of the caucuses.
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“There would have to be at least some jitters over the guy who plans to break up the big banks”.
