Ted Cruz Wins and Close Competition Between Clinton and Sanders in Iowa Primary Elections

Reports indicate that Senator Ted Cruz of the Republican Party managed to surpass his party rivals in the first step of the U.S. presidential elections during the Iowa primary elections on Monday, February 1. However, the vote counting shows a close competition between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of the Democratic Party. According to CNN, in the Iowa Republican Party caucuses, with over 99% of the votes counted, Ted Cruz secured 28% of the votes, placing him ahead of his competitors. Controversial Republican candidate Donald Trump came in second with 24%. Despite Trump being predicted to lead in most polls prior to the caucus, he finished in second place. Senator Marco Rubio also achieved third place with 23% of the votes, while retired surgeon Ben Carson came in fourth with 9%. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who had previously won the Iowa primary in 2008, only garnered 7% of the votes in 2016 and has decided to suspend his campaign. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush received only 3% of the votes. In his speech on Monday night in Iowa, Marco Rubio stated that the upcoming presidential election is not a normal election but a referendum. Rubio attacked Hillary Clinton, claiming she is unqualified to be the next president as she considers herself above the law, referring to her use of a personal email server during her tenure as Secretary of State. The two leading Democratic candidates in the Iowa caucuses had a very close and neck-and-neck competition, with Hillary Clinton ultimately managing to edge out Senator Bernie Sanders by a narrow margin. With 95% of the votes counted, Clinton secured over 50% of the votes, while Sanders received over 49%. Clinton praised the real competition among Democratic candidates for shaping the party's agenda. She reiterated her commitment to social security and defending the rights of women, workers, immigrants, and other minorities in America. The former Secretary of State emphasized that with the primary stage concluded, Democratic supporters must unite to confront the divisive policies of the eventual Republican nominee. Bernie Sanders, in his speech on Monday night, noted that nine months ago when he came to Iowa, he had neither fame nor money nor an organization, but now he has managed to tie with Hillary Clinton and secure nearly half of the votes. Sanders expressed gratitude for the support of millions of Americans for his campaign, stating that 3.5 million Americans contributed an average of $27 to his campaign nationwide. He emphasized that his campaign is funded by the people, not billionaires. After the voting in Iowa, all eyes will turn to New Hampshire, where voting will take place next Tuesday. The process for determining the final nominee for each party is conducted in some states as caucuses, meaning gatherings of party supporters, and in others as primaries, with direct voting by citizens. The Iowa election was held as a caucus, while the New Hampshire election will be a primary. Voting in local caucuses in Iowa marks the beginning of the electoral marathon in America, which will peak in the summer of 2016 at the national conventions for selecting the final nominee for each party.