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Iowa: Cruz beats Trump, Sanders and Clinton in dead heat

Surprises in US 2016 election's first caucus as devout Christian Cruz defeats mogul in Republican race, while Sanders, a Jewish democratic socialist, is neck-in-neck with the Democrats' presumptive nominee.

Ted Cruz, a fiery, conservative Texas senator loathed by his own party's leaders, swept to victory in Iowa's Republican caucuses Monday, overcoming billionaire Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders were deadlocked in a tight race.

 

 

Bernie Sanders said it looked like he and Hillary Clinton were in a "virtual tie" for first place. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton was up 49.9 percent to 49.6.

 

The Vermont senator congratulated his chief rival for waging a "very vigorous campaign" in the first contest of the 2016 election.

 

Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail (Photo: Reuters)
Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail (Photo: Reuters)

Sanders – who calls himself a democratic socialist – said he came to Iowa nine months ago with no money, name recognition or political organization. He says he took on "the most powerful political organization in the United States of America" -- namely the Clinton family.

 

Sanders says the people of Iowa have sent a profound message -- that it's too late for what he calls "establishment politics" in the United States.

 

On the Republican side, Cruz's victory was a harsh blow to Trump, the supremely confident real estate mogul who has roiled the Republican field for months with controversial statements about women and minorities.

 

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz during a Republican debate (Photo: AFP)
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz during a Republican debate (Photo: AFP)

 

The victory in the first Republican nominating contest ensures that Cruz will be a force in the presidential race for weeks to come -- if not longer. The first-term Texas senator now heads to next week's New Hampshire primary as an undisputed favorite of the furthest right voters, a position of strength for drawing in evangelical voters and others who prioritize an abrupt break with President Barack Obama's policies.

 

"Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment," Cruz told supporters.

 

Perhaps most importantly, Cruz's win denied Trump a huge opportunity to gain momentum heading into New Hampshire. Trump parlayed his fame as a real estate mogul and reality television star into large rallies and national poll numbers that before Monday night had established him as the Republican front-runner.

 

Trump held a narrow lead for second place over Rubio, who has helped cement his status as the favorite of mainstream Republican voters who worry that Cruz and Trump are too caustic to win the November general election.

 

Donald Trump prays with supporter shortly before the caucus (Photo: AP)
Donald Trump prays with supporter shortly before the caucus (Photo: AP)

 

The Iowa caucuses kicked off voting in the 2016 presidential race, a tumultuous contest with unexpected candidates challenging both the Republican and Democratic establishments.

 

Candidates faced an electorate deeply frustrated with Washington. While the economy has improved under Obama, the recovery has eluded many Americans. New terror threats at home and abroad have increased national security concerns.

In the Democratic race, vote counts past the 90 percent point in tabulations showed Clinton and Sanders in a virtual tie.

Democratic caucus-goers were choosing between Clinton's pledge to use her wealth of experience in government to bring about steady progress on democratic ideals and Sanders' call for radical change in a system rigged against ordinary Americans.

 

Clinton, the former secretary of state, senator and first lady, entered the Democratic race as the heavily favored front-runner. She was hoping to banish the possibility of dual losses in Iowa and in New Hampshire, the nation's first primary, where she trails Sanders, who is from the neighboring state of Vermont. Two straight defeats could set off alarms within the party and throw into question her ability to defeat the Republican nominee.

 

Hillary Clinton (right) with husband Bill and daughter Chelsea (Photo: AFP)
Hillary Clinton (right) with husband Bill and daughter Chelsea (Photo: AFP)

 

Clinton appeared before voters to declare she was "breathing a big sigh of relief." But she stopped short of claiming victory and declared herself ready to press forward in "a real contest of ideas."

 

Sanders, had hoped to replicate Obama's pathway to the presidency by using a victory in Iowa to catapult his passion and ideals of "democratic socialism" deep into the primaries.

 

"It is too late for establishment politics and establishment economics," said Sanders, who declared the Democratic contest in Iowa "a virtual tie."

 

Despite Sanders' strong showing, he still faces an uphill battle 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.

 

Iowa has long led off the state-by-state contests to choose delegates for the parties' national conventions. Historically, a victory has hardly assured the nomination -- Iowa accounts for only about 1 percent of the delegates who select the nominee. But a win there, or even an unexpectedly strong showing, can give a candidate momentum and media attention, while a poor showing can end a candidacy.

 

Rubio cast his stronger-than-expected finish as a victory.

 

"We have taken the first step, but an important step, to winning the nomination," the Florida senator said at a campaign rally in Des Moines.

 

Trump sounded humble in defeat, saying he was "honored" by the support of Iowans. And he vowed to keep up his fight for the Republican nomination.

 

"We will go on to easily beat Hillary or Bernie or whoever the hell they throw up," Trump told cheering supporters.

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.

 

The caucuses marked the end of at least two candidates' White House hopes. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley ended his long shot bid for the Democratic nomination and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee dropped out of the Republican race.

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.02.16, 08:32
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