Sanders’ strong performance in Iowa will allow him to continue his effective fundraising campaign, Rosenberg noted, as he heads into next week’s New Hampshire primary as a heavy favorite. But Democratic Party officials have not yet declared a victor.
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George Washington University Political Management Professor Christopher Arterton told Sputnik that Iowa represented a very strong showing by a challenger against what many believed to be the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for the USA presidency, although it does not necessarily deal a fatal blow to Clinton’s campaign.
The Iowa results – the closest in the history of the Iowa Democratic caucuses – were far tighter than Ms Clinton and her advisers had expected. “We will report that final precinct when we have confirmed those results with the chair”.
Based on these results, Ms Clinton is set to receive 23 of Iowa’s delegates and Sanders will earn 21 delegates.
“From experience, some of the rules with the Iowa Democratic party, some of the rules are a little outdated because they don’t get used very often”, said Quinn Symonds, who is part of the Iowa for Bernie grassroots group and a delegate in the state.
None of the other Republican candidates broke into the double digits: Dr. Ben Carson went home to get new clothes after winning 9.3% of the delegates; Rand Paul won 4.5%; Jeb Bush, who spent a king’s ransom in Iowa, won only 2.8%; every other candidate won less than two percent of overall delegate support, prompting former Arkansas governor and one-time Iowa caucus victor Mike Huckabee to suspend his campaign.
The Iowa Caucuses aren’t always the best predictor of which candidate will ultimately capture the White House, but it’s does help weed out the less viable ones.
“Tonight is a victory for grassroots”, Cruz told supports Monday night. There are three delegates still to be awarded.
Claiming victory, Cruz fired immediate shots at both Trump and the party elites he has so infuriated by waging an anti-establishment crusade that has nevertheless endeared him to the GOP’s rank and file.
The Iowa caucuses, the kick-off event of the USA presidential primary season, have revealed much but settled nothing. And, potentially worrisome for Trump, Rubio came close – 33 percent for Trump to 27 percent for Rubio – among those who consider themselves “moderate” or “liberal”.
Fans interviewed before the rally said Trump’s loss did not bother them. “For months, they told us we had no chance”, a jubilant Rubio said. Young voters in Iowa overwhelmingly backed Sanders.
Mrs Clinton appeared before supporters to declare she was “breathing a big sigh of relief”.
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“It’s rare that we have the opportunity we do now – to have a real contest of ideas, to really think hard about what the Democratic Party stands for and what we want the future of our country to look like”, Clinton said in a speech. On paper, advantage Clinton, but a Sanders surge could signal a lengthy fight.
