Once down by more than 50 points in the state, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came up a hair shy of shocking the world on Monday night in what’s being described as the closest Iowa Democratic Presidential Caucus in history.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting early Tuesday morning, the Iowa Democratic Party declared former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the winner. She secured 49.9 percent of the state delegate vote, compared to Sanders’ 49.6 percent.
Not counting the state’s super delegates that had already pledged to Secretary Clinton before the caucus, both candidates will walk away from the contest with roughly the same amount of delegates to take to the Democratic National Convention. Party officials are still awaiting the results of one remaining hold out precinct in Des Moines, but Clinton is projected to nab 22 delegates to Sanders 21, with one still up for grabs.
Clinton told supporters late Monday night that she was “breathing a sigh of relief.” Her campaign released a more assured statement afterward claiming that “there is no uncertainty and Secretary Clinton has clearly won.”
But questions did linger into the early morning hours Tuesday as Democratic Party officials scrambled to collect results from outstanding precincts. The Sanders campaign alleged that the party failed to properly staff 90 caucus sites—a claim that the officials denied.
There were also news reports that at six different precincts across the state, delegates were awarded to a candidate based on a coin toss after results were disputed. In all six of those cases, Hillary Clinton won the 50-50 toss-up.
Sanders, however, didn’t seem too concerned about being bested, reminding supporters late Monday night how far the campaign has come, in a speech stating that the likely outcome would be a tie.
“Nine months ago, we came to this beautiful state. We had no political organization; we had no money; no name recognition. And we were taking on the most powerful political organization in the United States of America,” Sanders said.
“I think the people of Iowa have sent a very profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment, and by the way, to the media establishment,” he added. “What Iowa has begun tonight is a political revolution.”
Both candidates flew to New Hampshire immediately after the contest to appeal to voters there ahead of the state’s primary next week.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), however, won’t be making the trek. He announced immediately after the caucus that he was suspending his campaign due to a poor showing that saw him win less than a percent of the vote.
According to the latest polling from the Granite State, Sanders holds a whopping 61-30 percent lead over Clinton.
On the Republican side of the equation, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had the best night on Monday in the Hawkeye State, edging businessman Donald Trump 28 percent to 24 percent. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also had an impressive showing, securing third place in a still-crowded field with 23 percent.
