Trump upset in Iowa; Rubio is right behind
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA Texas Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, a come-from-behind win that raises questions about the billionaire’s ability to translate his support in political polls into election victories.
Trump barely held off Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who finished a strong third.
“Tonight is a victory for the grass roots,” Cruz said at his victory rally. “Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment, will not be chosen by the lobbyists.”
Trump, who like Cruz waged an anti-establishment battle in the Hawkeye State, told supporters during a downcast rally in West Des Moines that he did much better than many people predicted when he launched his maverick campaign in mid-June. While congratulating Cruz and other candidates, Trump said he will still win the Republican nomination and set his sights on upcoming primaries in New Hampshire (Feb. 9) and South Carolina (Feb. 20).
“On to New Hampshire,” he said. He also swore his fondness for Iowa. “I might come
here and buy a farm — I love it.”
Rubio, meanwhile, declared his third-place finish a major victory, telling backers it makes him a key competitor for the Republican nomination.
“This is no ordinary election,” Rubio said, calling the result an important step to “winning this election.”
Rubio also saluted former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, the 2008 caucus winner who announced he was suspending his campaign after a poor finish on Monday.
While recent polls gave Trump a slight lead over Cruz in Iowa, Cruz told supporters he saw a statistical tie as voters headed for caucus locations Monday night.
Republicans produced a record turnout for the Iowa caucuses. While both Cruz and Trump emphasized efforts to attract new voters to the polls, Cruz and his team appeared to do the better job.
The vote came less than a week after Trump boycotted a Republican debate in Des Moines, claiming sponsors at Fox News treated him unfairly.
Other Republican candidates — Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina — all fought mainly to exceed expectations. The campaign for Carson, who was running fourth, issued a statement denying media reports that the retired neurosurgeon plans to suspend his campaign.
Bush, who left Iowa earlier Monday to start campaigning in New Hampshire, dismissed the Iowa results before the caucuses began. Citing Trump, Bush told a crowd in Manchester that “the front-runner candidate — at least as it stands right now — is a candidate who, it’s all about him. That is not what we need in Washington, D.C.”
As for Cruz and Rubio, two first-term senators, Bush dismissed them as “back-benchers who have never done anything of consequence in their life.” Bush took less than 3% of the Iowa vote. Christie, who took less than 2%, also flew from Iowa to New Hampshire on Monday afternoon, focusing on the state that offers him his best hope for gaining momentum.
The caucuses capped an extraordinary campaign in which Cruz and Trump attracted support by running against the Republican establishment as well as President Obama.
Trump, the businessman who rose to fame in the 1980s as a media-savvy developer, entered the Republican race in June by denouncing Mexican immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. He called most of them criminals and accused the Mexican government of encouraging them to enter the U.S. The Mexican government denied it, and Hispanic groups staged demonstrations at many Trump rallies.
The immigration issue and his denunciations of “stupid” politicians who are ruining the country helped Trump expand his lead nationally and in early-voting states — an edge that was further solidified in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., which elevated national security as a top concern for voters.
While attacking the government’s counterterrorism polices, Trump also proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. That plan drew criticism from Republican opponents as well as national and international officials.
Cruz, meanwhile, focused his campaign on Iowa and Southern states holding early primaries, targeting their high numbers of religious conservatives. Evangelicals made up more than half of Iowa GOP caucusgoers in 2012.
In the beginning of the campaign, Trump and Cruz treated each other with deference on the trail, even as they chased similar pools of voters.
That changed as Cruz caught and briefly passed Trump in Iowa polls. The businessman responded with a torrent of criticism directed at the Texan. Trump questioned whether Cruz is even eligible for the presidency, citing his birth in Canada. Cruz, arguing that he is eligible because his mother was a U.S. citizen, responded by questioning Trump’s commitment to conservatism.