Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were locked in an extremely tight duel in Iowa’s leadoff presidential caucuses Monday as the two rivals offered Americans a stark choice between political pragmatism and revolution.
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A loss in Iowa would be a major setback for Sanders’ upstart challenge against Clinton, who has deep ties throughout the party’s establishment and a strong following among a more diverse electorate that plays a larger role in primary contests in February and March.
In a speech near the Des Moines airport, Sanders acknowledged a “virtual tie” and said no matter the final result, Clinton and he would essentially split the amount of delegates.
“Tonight we saw an historically close Iowa Democratic Caucus that featured one of our strongest turnouts ever and passion and energy from Democrats all across our state”, IDP Chairman Andy McGuire said in a statement.
Clinton said she was breathing a “big sigh of relief” after the caucuses – even though she was tied with Sanders.
The Iowa Democratic Party doesn’t use the caucuses to award delegates to the national convention.
“Sanders tells reporters traveling aboard his flight to New Hampshire early Tuesday that his message of addressing wealth inequality resonated with voters in Iowa”.
Voting has begun in the Iowa caucuses, the first, nailbiting ballot in the race to pick candidates for November’s U.S. presidential elections.
Cruz modeled his campaign after past Iowa winners, visiting all of the state’s 99 counties and courting influential evangelical and conservative leaders.
Donald Trump, who told his supporters that under his leadership the United States would win so much that they would get sick of winning, has lost the Iowa caucuses to hard-right senator Ted Cruz, and barely held off the challenge of Marco Rubio for second place.
The question was whether Sanders could drive the historic participation that lifted Obama’s 2008 campaign by bringing voters into the process or if more reliable caucusgoers would propel Clinton to victory. Sanders is leading in opinion polls in New Hampshire.
“We will go on to win the Republican nomination”, Trump said and claimed that he will beat either of the potential Democratic nominee – Clinton or Sanders.
“I am a progressive who gets things done for people”, Clinton declared to supporters in Des Moines, saying she was “excited about really getting into the debate with Sen”. And for a self-described democratic socialist like Sanders to run so competitively with Hillary is a sign of the depth of the frustration with Washington politics.
Aides to both Trump and Ted Cruz now concede that Rubio will have some momentum in the state.
Some of the establishment Republican candidates have been focusing more on New Hampshire than Iowa, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. “We are not taking results from the campaigns”.
Trump has shaken the Republican Party perhaps more than any other candidate, though he was unable to turn his legion of fans into an Iowa victory.
The caucuses resulted in two casualties – one on each side.
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Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, both dropped their candidacies after faring poorly.
