The Iowa caucuses shattered overall attendance records, brought record numbers of first-time caucus-goers and surprised even the most seasoned political analysts and reporters.
Trump, contrary to what entrance polls predicted, fell first-loser to Ted Cruz, who finished up 3.3 percent and one delegate on Trump, according to the Associated Press.
Followers and critics of both the Trump and Cruz campaigns could see what a large difference there was in the ground games, something that is critically important to an Iowa caucus win.
So Cruz’s ground game pulled it out for him, and this win will be critical to Cruz’s success in future primaries. Now that voters, especially the undecideds, see that Cruz actually can win a nomination, we could see a shift in attitudes to his advantage.
Oh, and by the way, Trump’s second-place finish prompted many, including myself, to reference an old tweet of his: “No one remembers who came in second. -Walter Hagen”
The Cruz win was not the most surprising happening at the caucuses. Sen. Marco Rubio, following a strong debate performance, came in a strong third place, trailing Trump by only 1.2 percent of the vote.
What does this all mean for the upcoming primaries, though?
A win for any Republican candidate at this stage means plenty of media attention and maybe some spotlight taken off Trump, which is good for all of us.
Following the January 28 debate and directly after the Iowa caucuses, though, I thought I knew what was to come in the next primaries. But since then, a not-so-great debate performance by Rubio and continued ridicule for the “voter violation scandal” and the “stealing of Ben Carson’s votes” for Cruz have changed my projections.
Here are my projections for three states: Trump takes New Hampshire, Cruz barely takes South Carolina and Rubio takes Nevada.
As far as the Democrats, where do I begin? The caucuses left viewers at the edge of their seats until the early morning hours, until finally Clinton claimed a 0.3 percent win over Sanders.
Clinton, I predict will remain about the same in popularity for the rest of the campaign season. She has a pretty dedicated following. For those who are undecided, I thoroughly expect to start siding with “The Bern.” New Hampshire is definitely going to be Bernie’s time, according to the latest polls, but look out for him in the later states as well.
