Hillary Clinton’s struggle in Iowa to fend off underdog Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, reignited questions about her ability to close the deal with Democratic voters and turned up the pressure on her high-profile White House campaign.
The Democratic presidential frontrunner, whose campaign ran off the rails in Iowa in 2008 against Barack Obama, was dealt another setback on Monday in the Midwestern state that begins the 2016 race for the presidency.
The former secretary of state, Ms Clinton, 68, was pushed to a virtual tie with Mr Sanders, a 74-year-old US Senator from Vermont.
Next up is New Hampshire, which holds its primary on February 9. Mr Sanders has been leading in opinion polls there and has an advantage because it neighbours his home state. A Clinton loss would start to set off alarm bells with her supporters.
“She has had every possible structural and organisational advantage and Sanders fought her to a draw,” said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California.
“This is almost a moment by moment rerun of 2008,” Mr Schnur said. “The difference is her competition is not as tough this time.”
Ms Clinton insisted at her post-caucus rally that she was the candidate who could unify her party and prevail against a Republican challenger in the November 8 election but the sense of disappointment was palpable.
Her subdued, six-minute speech contrasted with the ebullient tone of Mr Sanders’ 16-minute speech.
With no clear victory to announce, Ms Clinton’s campaign scrapped a plan to have her daughter Chelsea and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, introduce her. They stood alongside her instead, with Bill Clinton wearing his campaign logo badge upside-down.
Into the early hours of Tuesday, Ms Clinton and Mr Sanders remained separated by less than a percentage point. The race was so tight that several precincts were forced to decide who got the winning votes by a coin toss.
