Hillary Clinton scrapes out narrow win over Bernie Sanders in Iowa caucus
Feb 2, 2016, 11:07 AM | Updated: 11:15 am
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in front of former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea during a caucus night party at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton was declared the winner of the incredibly tight 2016 Iowa caucus on Tuesday.
BREAKING: Hillary Clinton wins Democratic caucuses in Iowa.
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 2, 2016
The race between Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders was too close to call Monday night.
At 10 p.m. Arizona time, 95 percent of votes were in, with Clinton and Sanders within a percent of votes.
#IowaCaucus: Clinton with 49.9%, Sanders with 49.6% of votes.
94% of votes are in.
— KTAR News (@KTAR923) February 2, 2016
Historically, the Democratic winner of the Iowa caucus often winds up being the party’s presidential candidate. The same cannot be said for the Republican Party.
Weather was a concern leading up to the first presidential primary of the year. The forecast called for nearly six inches of snow to fall Monday. The storm was supposed to take a nasty turn soon after the polls closed.
Prior to Monday’s vote, Clinton praised her campaign staff and said that Sanders has run the campaign he wants to run, noting, simply, “we have differences.”
Clinton made similar arguments to those she offered during her failed 2008 White House run, when she lost the nomination to another insurgent senator.
“Stick with me,” she urged backers Sunday in Council Bluffs. “Stick with a plan, stick with experience.”
Earlier Sunday, Clinton said on ABC’s “This Week” that she’s endured “years of scrutiny” in public life.
“I feel vetted … and I think I’m the best person to be the nominee and to defeat whoever they nominate in November,” she said.
Sanders made a late push in Iowa, where he implored young and disaffected voters to help him mount “a political revolution.”
Sanders said the campaign isn’t just about his policy positions, such as making the wealthy pay a fairer share in taxes, demanding a $15 an hour minimum wage, pay equity for women and better trade policies.
“It is about revitalizing American democracy,” he said. “That’s what you’re doing here.”
The tight race between Clinton and Sanders means they split Iowa’s 44 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where the party’s nominee will eventually be chosen in late July.
However, Clinton already had a strong lead among superdelegates who can support any candidate, no matter whom voters choose in the primaries and caucuses. So far, 361 have said they would support Clinton at the convention. Only eight have backed Sanders.
The next presidential primary is Feb. 9 in New Hampshire.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
