In the hours leading up to the caucuses, that conversation continued to be dominated by Trump and the Democratic party’s anti-establishment candidate, Vermont Sen.
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Polls have put Mr Trump well ahead in recent weeks and a loss there would seriously dent his credentials.
Meanwhile, in the Republican caucus in the state, Republican candidate Ted Cruz took 28 percent to win over billionaire and property investor Donald Trump, who garnered 24 percent.
At a rally on Tuesday, the Vermont senator exhorted his followers to come out in force and vote in the primary on February 9 in New Hampshire, a state that Clinton called Sanders’ “backyard”.
“New Hampshire is Bernie Sanders’ backyard”.
Mr Sanders told supporters the results proved he was a viable candidate, and he said: “We’re in this for the long haul”. Cruz may also do better in other states because ethanol won’t be an issue to bedevil him.
The once-unthinkably-small margin between the former first lady over a self-declared “democratic socialist” is being seen as an indication the Democratic Party is conflicted between the party establishment and leftist voters. Sanders said his campaign was still reviewing the results and did not concede.
The Cruz campaign didn’t immediately respond to the criticism from Trump, who holds commanding leads in polls of likely voters in next week’s first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary. Ted Cruz defeated him in the Iowa caucuses.
But Trump didn’t stop there as he leveled other claims against Cruz, including that the Texas senator falsely suggested he supported Obamacare. Coming in a close third, Florida Sen.
Mr Trump tweeted: “The Voter Violation certificate gave poor marks to the unsuspecting voter (grade of F) and told them to clear it up by voting for Cruz”.
Polls show well over half of Republican voters have yet to make up their minds.
Trump’s tweets could be referencing a Monday message from Iowa Rep. Steve King, who endorsed Cruz in November.
Cruz dug in his heels on Wednesday, saying that his team simply passed along a CNN story about the status of Carson’s campaign.
Following Tuesday’s event, Senator Cruz left for an event in SC but will be back in the granite state tomorrow.
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If he can’t beat Ms Clinton there he’ll lose badly in more Clinton-friendly territory such as SC – the third contest. Tim Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate. You can’t recount people who voted with their feet and not on paper. Despite stealing the spotlight and driving the debate for months, he appears to have been out-organized by Cruz in Iowa.
