Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Dramatic Night In Iowa as Clinton, Cruz Declared Winners

Iowa caucuses

Last night’s Iowa Caucuses turned out to be a dramatic event for both the Democratic and Republican contenders with Texas Senator Ted Cruz pulling out a come from behind victory over Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders neck and neck until the race was finally called for Clinton this morning.

In her speech to Iowa supporters last night, Clinton declared “I am a progressive who gets things done for people. I am honored to stand in the long line of American reformers who make up our minds that the status quo is not good enough, that standing still is not an option and that brings people together to find ways to improve the lives of Americans.”

Clinton won with 49.9% to Bernie Sanders’ 49.6% on the Democratic side while Ted Cruz captured 28% of the vote to Donald Trump’s 24% and Marco Rubio’s surprisingly strong third place finish at 23%.

Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to win the Iowa Caucuses and the results were the tightest of any Democratic caucus in the state. Turnout was very high, which conventional wisdom leading up to the contest suggested was good news for Sanders and his supporters, but Clinton’s organization allowed her to pull out a razor thin win in the end.

As the race moves on to New Hampshire, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, now the first Hispanic to win the GOP Iowa Caucuses, is still some 24 points behind Donald Trump. Cruz’s ground game and appeal to evangelical Christian voters was instrumental to his come from behind win here where polls showed him trailing Trump by about 7 points. Whether or not Cruz or Florida Senator Marco Rubio can turn their Iowa victories into momentum and votes going into the first in the nation primary is a key question.

In a defiant and rousing speech to supporters, Ted Cruz claimed victory and railed against the GOP elites in Washington and the media. In front of the cameras the Texan told the crowd that his campaign was “a movement for Americans to organize, rallying and banding together against the disaster of the Washington cartel.”

 

Politico, FOX News Latino