Ted Cruz won the Republican caucus, while the Democratic caucus was too close to call
On Monday Feb. 1, 2016, Iowans did their part in selecting the presidential nominees for the 2016 American general election.
Democratic nominees Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were in a deadlock until 10 minutes to midnight. The precise difference in votes changed between 0.1—0.3 per cent with every browser refresh. It wasn’t until the early hours of Tuesday morning that an un-clear winner was selected for the democratic nomination in Iowa. Results showed that Clinton topped by 0.3 per cent with 99.94 per cent of polling stations reporting. Some outlets, like the Associated Press didn’t issue a winner, stating that the vote was too close to call.
“I honestly don’t know what happened,” said Sanders, in an article by the Guardian. “I know there are some precincts that have still not reported. I can only hope and expect that the count will be honest.”
However, it was easier to determine a winner in the Republican contest. Candidate Ted Cruz defeated Donald Trump at the polls, winning approximately 28 per cent of the vote.
While Cruz won the night, Republican Marco Rubio also made huge gains, nearly taking second place from Trump. The Washington Post predicted Rubio in third place, but [pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…Clinton topped by 0.3 per cent…[/pullquote]
not within two points of Trump. It is a five-point spread that separated first-place Cruz, from third-place Rubio.
When people gather in a registered voting venue to select a nominee for the Democratic Party in Iowa, they do so by standing in one corner of a room, or the opposite corner of a room, depending on the candidate.
Using this data gathered from all precincts, delegates are distributed using a mathematical formula. The candidate with the most delegates wins. In the case that either camp has a tie, a coin-flip can decide which candidate that individual precinct will support. BBC News reported that there were seven instances where the coin flip rule was used this caucus to decide whether Sanders or Clinton won a precinct.
Candidates next look ahead to the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9, 2016. Unlike the contest in Iowa where people caucus, voting in New Hampshire is done through a secret ballot process. Huffington Post-affiliate Pollster shows that support for Trump going into New Hampshire is at 34.1 per cent, and in second place, is Ted Cruz at 11.9 per cent.