Citizens of Iowa declared Ted Cruz the winner of the Republican caucus Monday night, while the Democratic Party remained in a “virtual tie” between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
It wasn’t until early Tuesday afternoon that the Democratic Party declared Clinton its winner. Clinton came out on top with a 49.9 percent vote over Sanders’ 49.6 percent. Despite losing, Sanders remained focused on the upcoming primaries ahead.
“This is just the first primary of many,” Gregory Minchak, a regional press member of Sanders’ campaign, said. “It’s not the end of an election, just the start of one.”
With a win by only 0.3 percent, some were speculating that Clinton won from the result of a coin toss.
“The coin toss is a procedure they have that is niche to the caucuses,” Minchak said.
The number of reported coin tosses is unknown, but is believed to be seven.
Clinton has reached a major milestone after Tuesday night’s victory. In 2008, she campaigned against Barrack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards in the Iowa caucuses and fell short of a win. Fast forward eight years, and she has left Iowa with a big win under her belt.
“As I stand here tonight, breathing a big sigh of relief, thank you, Iowa,” Clinton said at a speech that evening. “I want you to know, I will keep doing what I have done my entire life.”
According to Iowa entrance polls, Clinton won 69 percent of voters age 65 and over, whereas Sanders won 85 percent of voters age 17 to 29. Based on statistics, it seems that Sanders is the popular choice of millennials, and Clinton has secured the older vote.
“I think we saw the senator’s message get picked up by the people of Iowa,” Minchak said. “I think it shows that there’s a lot of support out there for the vision he has for America.”
While the Democratic Party winner was decided by a mere 0.3 percent margin, the Republican Party’s winner was clear, but surprising. Cruz shocked voters with his 27.6 percent vote over Donald Trump’s 24.3 percent vote. Marco Rubio also shook up the playing field by staying on Trump’s tail with 23.1 percent of the vote.
Cruz resonated with all voters in Iowa, leading in every individual age bracket from 18 to over 65.
“We are inspired by each and every one of you,” Cruz said in his speech. “I leap out of bed every morning amazed.”
Many of the Republican candidates who fell short of a win have now dropped out of the presidential race. Mike Huckabee ended his campaign before the caucus results were in that night, and both Rand Paul and Rick Santorum announced last week they were suspending their campaigns as well.
While other candidates were focused on the upcoming primaries, Trump had something different in mind after his loss.
“I think I might come here and buy a farm. I love it,” Trump said.
The next primary will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 9 in New Hampshire.
