Arch conservative Ted Cruz, a Tea Party favourite, scored an upset victory over Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, while Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were locked in a virtual tie in the nation’s first presidential race. “The Republican nominee and the next President of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment, will not be chosen by the lobbyists”.
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Trump, 69, congratulated Cruz and said he still expected to win the Republican nomination for the November 8 election.
Cruz, a right-wing conservative who has campaigned as an anti-establishment candidate, stunned Trump to affirm his position as the favoured candidate among the Republican right.
Hillary Clinton is clinging to her small lead over Bernie Sanders in Iowa as their heated 2016 Democratic race for the White House officially kicks into gear this week when polls there open. The weakest candidate began to peel off. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, the only other major Democratic candidate, suspended his campaign in the face of negligible support, as did former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in the GOP race.
She added that she was “excited” about debating Sanders and was breathing a “big sigh of relief” after the caucuses.
Both candidates made speeches before the final votes had come in, with a jubilant Mr Sanders declaring the contest a “virtual tie”.
Yes, she may very well end up the victor here, but suffice it to say, this is not how she drew it up when she entered the 2016 presidential contest last April.
But her closest rival Bernie Sanders took 49.6% after a dead heat in the presidential nominating contest.
By claiming victory in Iowa, Cruz ensures he’ll be a force in the Republican primary contest for weeks to come – if not longer.
And he is bilingual, a major asset for the Republican Party, which has felt the sting of Hispanic voter abandonment. A Clinton loss would start to set off alarm bells with her supporters. Most pundits had predicted that kind of showing would boost Trump, who was relying on new voters. Whether it takes advantage of the window of opportunity presented by Rubio’s better-than-expected showing in Iowa will be a story written next week in New Hampshire and the week after that in SC.
News has given the victory to Clinton, and The Associated Press reports that Clinton leads Sanders 22 to 21 in Iowa delegates after the caucuses.
A former US senator and first lady, Clinton often touts her years of experience in politics, and says she will defend much of Obama’s legacy.
In some ways, Cruz’s victory complicates Rubio’s path to the nomination.
A chastened Trump conceded to Cruz but vowed to wage a vigorous campaign in the other early states of New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond.
Mr Cruz gets at least eight delegates, Mr Trump at least seven, Mr Rubio six, two for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and at least one for Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. More than 4 in 10 Republicans arriving at caucus sites said the candidate quality that mattered most in their vote was that the candidate shares their values.
“We will go on to easily beat Hillary or Bernie or whoever the hell they throw up”, Trump told cheering supporters.
“For months they said we had no chance”, Rubio said, “because my hair wasn’t gray enough, and my boots were too high”.
The Iowa results have already narrowed an unusually crowded Republican field, with a number of candidates struggling to achieve the turnout needed to continue.
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“I will be our nominee, thanks to what you have done here in this great state”, Rubio said Monday night when he delivered a speech touting his performance. And a former aide to President Barack Obama took to Twitter to accuse the Vermont senator of repudiating their old boss’ record.
