Relishing victory in the first Republican nominating contest of the US presidential election, Senator Ted Cruz called his defeat of Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses a tribute to “conservative grassroots”.
“This is the power of the conservative grassroots,” the Senator said.
Mr Cruz also said the result from Monday’s contest was a rebuke to what he called President Barack Obama’s liberal agenda and a win for “Judeo-Christian values”.
Mr Cruz won the Republican Iowa caucuses with 28 per cent of the vote compared with 24 per cent for businessman Mr Trump, whose aggressive and unorthodox campaign has been marked by controversies.
On the Democratic side, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton won by a razor-thin margin against US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history.
Ms Clinton, 68, prevailed by only four delegates, according to party figures. Mr Sanders, 74, a self-described democratic socialist who has strongly attacked Ms Clinton’s campaign from the left, declared the result a virtual tie after he had trailed the former First Lady in opinion polls for months.
“I think the significance is for folks who did not think Bernie Sanders could win, that we could compete against Hillary Clinton, I hope that thought is now gone,” Mr Sanders told CNN.
For the Republicans, Marco Rubio, 44, a US Senator from Florida, came in third with 23 per cent, making a stronger-than-expected finish and establishing himself as the mainstream alternative to the two front-running rivals in the race to be the party’s presidential nominee.
The Midwestern state of Iowa has held the first nominating contest in the country since the early 1970s, giving it extra weight in the electoral process that can translate into momentum for winning candidates as they head into months of state-by-state battles.
An uncharacteristically humbled Mr Trump, 69, congratulated Mr Cruz and said he still expected to win the Republican nomination. Opinion polls show Mr Trump leading nationally and in New Hampshire, which holds the next nominating contest next week.
“I’m just honoured,” Mr Trump said.
The 2016 election is shaping up to be the year of angry voters as disgruntled Americans worry about issues such as immigration, terrorism, income inequality and healthcare, fuelling the campaigns of Mr Trump, Mr Sanders and Mr Cruz.
Two presidential hopefuls, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, who had trouble gaining traction in the Democratic race, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Republican, suspended their campaigns.
