And leading up to the caucuses, trusted pollsters had Trump ahead in Iowa with 28 percent, with Cruz in 2nd with 23 percent.
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On the Democratic side, it was too close to call between former Secretary of State Clinton and Sanders.
Rubio’s strong showing could set him up as the best placed potential establishment candidate to take on “outsider” challengers Cruz and Trump, observers said.
“Tonight here in Iowa, the people of this great state sent a very clear message”, Rubio told supporters.
The outcome in the country’s first nominating contest drew a line under voter dissatisfaction, especially among Republicans, with the way government in Washington operates, with anger over growing income inequality and fears of global turmoil and terrorism.
The state’s 30 Republican delegates to the national convention are awarded proportionally based on the vote, with at least eight delegates going to Cruz, seven to Trump and six to Rubio.
Republican Mick Huckabee announced he was dropping out of the race, and sources close to Democrat Martin O’Malley said he would follow suit.
While the Republican and Democratic contests were fiercely contested, the showdown between Clinton and Sanders was down to the wire with incomplete results giving Clinton less than a one percent margin of victory.
Clinton said she was breathing a “big sigh of relief” after the caucuses – despite the extremely tight race.
In the Democratic race, Clinton failed to get a decisive result though her aides claimed victory.
“It is rare that we have the opportunity we do now to have a real contest of ideas”, she said.
“We do not represent the interests of the billionaire class, Wall Street or corporate America”, said the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist.
Another candidate, Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and a victor of the 2008 Republican caucus, also dropped out.
“Financial markets might be more comfortable with Hillary (Clinton) than Bernie (Sanders)”, said Sean Callow, a strategist at Westpac Bank in Australia.
Des Moines, United States -Democratic White House hopeful Bernie Sanders on Monday called the Iowa caucus a “virtual tie” with his rival Hillary Clinton, as the result remained too close to call.
But Trump’s big personality, social media presence and large rallies failed to overcome Cruz’s more traditional approach to Iowa’s retail politics.
See Iowa Caucus results here. Sanders has held a substantial lead in polls there.
“Every single one of you who came out for me, from my young organizers with energy and passion to the families and friends across this state, I am deeply grateful”, Clinton said.
Rubio trailed Trump by 13 percent in the highly respected DSR/Bloomberg poll, but came within 2 percentage points of Trump after voters were counted by early Tuesday morning.
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Trump, hours after predicting a “tremendous” victory, delivered a short but gracious speech that lacked his normal bombast, saying he loved Iowa and vowed to bounce back next week in New Hampshire.
