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Game On: Iowa caucuses kick off 2016 presidential election


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Game On: Iowa caucuses kick off 2016 presidential election
By JULIE PACE and CATHERINE LUCEY

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After a long year of campaigning, Republican and Democratic presidential candidates face voters for the first time, battling in Iowa Monday for a boost toward the White House — or in many cases, simply a reason to stay in the race.

The contests in both parties were tight heading into the evening caucuses. Among Republicans, billionaire Donald Trump appeared to have a slim edge over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders were locked in an unexpectedly close Democratic contest, reviving memories of the former secretary of state's disappointing showing in Iowa eight years ago.

"We knocked on 125,000 doors this past weekend," Clinton told NBC's "Today" show. "Although it's a tight race, a lot of the people who are committed to caucusing for me will be there and standing up for me and I will do the same for them in the campaign and in the presidency."

Sanders, the Vermont senator who has been generating big, youthful crowds across the state, urged voters to help him "make history" with a win in Iowa.

"We will struggle tonight if the voter turnout is low. That's a fact," Sanders told volunteers and supporters in Des Moines.

Candidates face an electorate deeply frustrated with Washington. While the economy has approved under President Barack Obama's watch, the recovery has eluded many Americans. New terror threats at home and abroad have also ratcheted up national security concerns.

In Iowa, which has for decades launched the presidential nominating contest, candidates also face an electorate that's whiter, more rural and more evangelical than many states. But, given its prime leadoff spot in the primary season, the state gets extra attention from presidential campaigns.

Even so, Iowa has decidedly mixed results in picking eventual nominees. The past two Republican caucus winners — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum — faded as the race stretched on. But Obama's unexpected 2008 victory was instrumental in his path to the Democratic nomination, easing the anxieties of those who worried the young black senator would struggle to win white voters.

Monday's contest will offer the first hard evidence of whether Trump can turn the legion of fans drawn to his plainspoken populism into voters. He has intensified his campaign schedule during the final sprint, including a pair of rallies Monday.

Cruz has modeled his campaign after past Iowa winners, visiting all of the state's 99 counties and courting influential evangelical and conservative leaders. With the state seemingly tailor-made for his brand of uncompromising conservatism, a loss to Trump would likely be viewed as a failure to meet expectations.

Seeking to tamp down expectations, Cruz said Sunday, "If you had told me a year ago that two days out from the Iowa caucuses we would be neck and neck, effectively tied for first place in the state of Iowa, I would have been thrilled."

Cruz has spent the closing days of the Iowa campaign focused intensely on Marco Rubio, trying to ensure the Florida senator doesn't inch into second place. Rubio is viewed by many Republicans as a more mainstream alternative to Trump and Cruz, though he'll need to stay competitive in Iowa in order to maintain his viability.

Rubio, who previously lashed back at criticism, adopted the same reflective tone as many of his rivals on Monday, telling NBC that Cruz "has a very strong ground game." He dismissed attacks against him as "politics as usual."

The campaigns were anxiously keeping an eye on the weather. A snowfall forecast to start Monday night appeared more likely to hinder the hopefuls in their rush out of Iowa than the voters. Republican John Kasich already had decamped to New Hampshire, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush following behind Monday afternoon, hours before the caucuses started.

Unlike in primaries, where voters can cast their ballots throughout the day, the caucuses begin across Iowa at 7 p.m. CST. Democrats gather at 1,100 locations and Republicans at nearly 900.

Turnout was expected to be strong.

While both parties caucus on the same night, they do so with different rules.

Republicans vote by private ballot. The state's 30 Republican delegates are awarded proportionally based on the vote.

Democrats form groups at caucus sites, publicly declaring their support for a candidate. If the number in any group is less than 15 percent of the total, they can either bow out or join another viable candidate's group.

Those final numbers are awarded proportionately, based on statewide and congressional district voting, determining Iowa's 44 delegates to the national convention.
___

Pace reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Lisa Lerer, Scott McFetridge and Scott Bauer contributed to this report.

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-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-02

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US elections 2016: Voting begins in US presidential race

(BBC)The nationwide process of selecting candidates to run in November's US presidential race is under way in the state of Iowa.


Voters have begun meeting - or caucusing - across the state in schools, churches and other venues.

Early indications based on entrance polling by US media suggest that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton lead the Republican and Democratic races.

Iowa kicks off a state-by-state contest over the coming weeks and months.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-35457094

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-- BBC 2016-02-02

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The Latest: Cruz declared winner in Iowa caucuses

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The latest on developments in Monday's Iowa caucuses, the opening contest in the 2016 race for the White House (all local times):

9:27 p.m.

It's Ted Cruz on top in the leadoff Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa.

The Texas senator has edged past of Donald Trump and a crowded GOP field.

Cruz won with strong support from Iowa's influential evangelical community and conservative voters.

Cruz's victory in the first contest of the 2016 race comes just four years after he rode a tea party wave to win election to the Senate.

The race now moves to New Hampshire, where Trump has strong support among voters frustrated and angry with Washington.

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-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-02

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Cruz defeats Trump in Iowa; Clinton, Sanders in tight race

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ted Cruz, a fiery, conservative Texas senator loathed by his own party's leaders, swept to victory in Iowa's Republican caucuses Monday, overcoming billionaire Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were deadlocked in a tight race.

Cruz's victory was a harsh blow to Trump, the supremely confident real estate mogul who has roiled the Republican field for months with controversial statements about women and minorities.

The victory in the first Republican nominating contest ensures that Cruz will be a force in the presidential race for weeks to come — if not longer. The first-term Texas senator now heads to next week's New Hampshire primary as an undisputed favorite of the furthest right voters, a position of strength for drawing in evangelical voters and others who prioritize an abrupt break with President Barack Obama's policies.

Perhaps most importantly, Cruz's win denied Trump a huge opportunity to gain momentum heading into New Hampshire. Trump parlayed his fame as a real estate mogul and reality television star into large rallies and national poll numbers that before Monday night had established him as the Republican front-runner.

The Iowa caucuses kicked off voting in the 2016 presidential race, a tumultuous contest with unexpected candidates challenging both the Republican and Democratic establishments.

Candidates faced an electorate deeply frustrated with Washington. While the economy has improved under Obama, the recovery has eluded many Americans. New terror threats at home and abroad have increased national security concerns

Clinton, the former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady, had been expected to cruise to victory in Iowa and beyond. But Sanders has appealed to the Democrats' liberal base, especially the young, who are concerned about growing income inequality and the shrinking of the middle class.

Vote counts at the 90 percent point in tabulations showed Clinton and Sanders in a virtual tie.

Iowa has long led off the state-by-state contests to choose delegates for the parties' national conventions. Historically, a victory has hardly assured the nomination — Iowa accounts for only about 1 percent of the delegates who select the nominee. But a win there, or even an unexpectedly strong showing, can give a candidate momentum and media attention, while a poor showing can end a candidacy.

Monday's contest offered the first test of whether Trump, a reality TV star, could turn the legion of fans drawn to his plainspoken populism into voters. But he faced a tough rival in Cruz, whose uncompromising and sometimes abrasive anti-Washington approach has antagonized establishment Republicans, but excited conservatives who see politicians as unprincipled and ineffective.

In the state's Democratic contest, the tight race revived memories of Clinton's disappointing showing eight years ago when Obama won the caucuses and, ultimately, the Democratic nomination and presidency.

Clinton has campaigned as a progressive who could get things done in a Washington split by an intense partisan divide. But her familiar name and long resume aren't necessarily advantages in an election year dominated by anti-establishment candidates. Clinton has also been on the defensive over her use of a personal email account for official business as secretary of state, raising questions about whether she mishandled government secrets and her overall trustworthiness.

The caucuses marked the end of at least two candidates' White House hopes. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley ended his longshot bid for the Democratic nomination and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee dropped out of the Republican race.

Iowa is a contest of organization as well as popularity. With votes being cast in about 2,000 meetings across the state, candidates not only had to win over voters, but make sure their supporters turned up — a much more difficult task than generating turnout for all-day primary voting.

"We knocked on 125,000 doors this past weekend," Clinton told NBC's "Today" show. "Although it's a tight race, a lot of the people who are committed to caucusing for me will be there and standing up for me and I will do the same for them in the campaign and in the presidency."

Sanders told volunteers and supporters: "We will struggle tonight if the voter turnout is low. That's a fact.'"

A victory by Sanders in Iowa would give him momentum headed into the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary. Sanders is expected to do well in New Hampshire, which is next to his home state of Vermont. But his long-term prospects remain questionable. Clinton has a lead in national polls and is well-placed to win other states over the next month, especially those which unlike Iowa have large numbers of black and Latino voters.

Some of the Republican candidates have been focusing more on New Hampshire than Iowa, including Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov Chris Christie. While none is expected to do well in Iowa, they are all hoping for strong showings in New Hampshire to keep their campaigns alive.

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-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-02

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Cruz beats Trump in Iowa nomination contest

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DES MOINES: -- In a shock result US conservative candidate Ted Cruz has beaten billionaire Donald Trump in Iowa’s Republican presidential nominating contest.


Cruz who is a lawmaker from Texas won with 28 percent of the vote compared to a likely 24 percent for businessman Trump.

The result has dealt a major blow to national front runner Trump whose supporters had been confident of a win. It was thought a high turnout would have worked to Trump’s advantage with young first time participants but it seems the evangelical vote has prevailed.

There was also an unexpected strong showing by foreign policy hawk Marco Rubio who appears to have come in third although the final count could see even him come out ahead of Trump.

There were 11 Republican candidates standing in Iowa. None of the rest managed to poll above 10 percent. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said he was suspending his campaign for the Republican party nomination. Huckabee won the Iowa caucus in 2008.

Iowa was the first of 50 states to pick nominees for the Nov 8 election to succeed President Barack Obama.

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-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-02

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NBC News: Hillary Clinton named apparent winner of IA Caucus: 700 to Sanders 695.

Apparently some of the delegates were decided by the toss of a coin, in accordance with the rules.

A whole new Fox News scandal is probably already in the making.

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Actually for Clinton not a victory as she barely came out ahead. In many ways a victory for Bernie although he doesn't get the majority of delegates. She carries only phony enthusiasm into Hew Hampshire and she will lose in New Hampshire. Many are giving her S. Carolina hands down, hmmm seems they were doing that for all states just a few months ago. Bernie and his supporters are in for the long game. Game over, oh I think not. Cruz and the biggest clown of all, both are extremely dangerous to America in different ways. Actually the entire clown bus is anti-American, anti-Constitution and a danger to the entire world. In fact Cruz may be the most dangerous of the pair with his dominionist belief. Hillary will be a disaster for America and the world while any of the clown bus (soon to be clown car) will be an ever greater disaster. Hillary is counting on her black supporters in S. Carolina to carry her to victory but if somebody explains how they've been screwed over by the Clinton's that support might evaporate. One way or the other, there is not enough batshit crazy people in the US to elect any of the batshit crazy clown bus.

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/30/we_do_not_need_another_clinton_administration_if_only_sanders_would_say_it/

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/31/the_clintons_sordid_race_game_no_one_will_say_it_but_the_clintons_rise_was_premised_on_repudiating_black_voters/

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