The long race to the White House has started with the caucuses in Iowa on Monday, Feb. 1. The election in this state has defied all conventional wisdom, polls and political pundits’ analyses and fearless forecasts. Voter turnout was reported to have broken records, revealing voter enthusiasm in both parties.
Republican caucuses
Frontrunner Donald Trump was crushed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz — the ultra-conservative candidate who pundits, the polls, and Trump himself prophesied to have a dying campaign after he was pummeled in the FOX News-sponsored Iowa debate that Trump decided not to participate in because of his feud with the network.
The missed appearance might have hurt Trump, who decided instead to stage an event — at the same time of the debate — that he said would raise money for veterans Many believe, including Trump himself in hindsight, that this was a misstep on his part because he ended up losing the chance to convince the people of Iowa that he has better vision and platform than his competitors.
Trump might have ducked having to respond to questions examining his positions, statements and actions in the past, but with the unique political process of caucuses in Iowa, he might have lost voters to Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was just a percentage point lower than Trump, despite his not so impressive rating in the polls before the Iowa caucuses.
Cruz finished with 28 percent of the votes, Trump with 24 percent and Rubio 23 percent. All the other GOP candidates got single digit votes.
This result proves that the caucuses might have just reinforced the fact that Republicans in Iowa were looking for candidates who share their conservative principles and values. This triumphed over the birther issue raised by Trump against Cruz, not the Trump’s star power.
During the caucuses, voters actually openly discuss with other voters why they are voting for their selected candidate, and may even sway supporters of the other candidates to change their votes in favor of their candidate, or convince the undecided to join them in caucusing for their candidate.
Democratic caucuses
Who would have thought that 74-year-old Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders would be in a virtual tie with frontrunner former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Just a year ago, he was polling only 7 percent versus Clinton’s 68 percent. On caucus night in Iowa, Sanders and Clinton were in a virtual tie, with less than one percent difference between them: Clinton got 49.9, while Sanders got 49.6.
Because of the tightness of the race, officials resorted to coin toss, a practice allowed by rules for Democratic precincts. Des Moines Register reported on at least two instances of decisions by a coin toss, all breaking for Clinton.
Clinton might have been declared the winner in Iowa, but this could still change, and Sanders might still turn out to have won in this state. The Clinton victory was announced based on results from 1,682 of 1,683 precincts. One the result of precinct — precinct 42 — was reported missing, and according to the Des Moines Register, “Votes from one precinct in Iowa were still missing Tuesday morning, and Democrats from that neighborhood scrambled to find party officials so that they could report their tally: Bernie Sanders won by 2 delegates over Hillary Clinton.”
Heading to New Hampshire, both candidates have their own respective bragging rights. Clinton touts her experience and pragmatism, which she claims will make her beat whomever will be the Republican Party’s nominee for president.
However, Clinton needs the support of the young and first time voters who overwhelmingly support Sanders for his progressive principles, and his consistent stand in his fight against income inequality, and the power of the richest of the rich Americans and corporations over the people in Washington, to the detriment of the 99 percent of the population: hardworking middle class and poor Americans.
Clinton also needs to work on her other deficit — and that is the trust factor. Those who are not in her camp believes she has been in bed with Wall Street, corporations and big businesses who have contributed heavily to her campaign and paid her a lot of money for speeches. The Benghazi controversy and her email issues also add to this trust problem of Clinton.
On the other hand, Sanders has proven that even without help from Wall Street and big businesses, he can win because of the help and support from the grassroots who believe in his cause. The Sanders campaign has exceeded all expectations and raised more money, all coming from ordinary voters with an average of $27 contribution each to help catapult him to be the next president of the United States.
Republican caucuses
Frontrunner Donald Trump was crushed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz — the ultra-conservative candidate who pundits, the polls, and Trump himself prophesied to have a dying campaign after he was pummeled in the FOX News-sponsored Iowa debate that Trump decided not to participate in because of his feud with the network.
The missed appearance might have hurt Trump, who decided instead to stage an event — at the same time of the debate — that he said would raise money for veterans Many believe, including Trump himself in hindsight, that this was a misstep on his part because he ended up losing the chance to convince the people of Iowa that he has better vision and platform than his competitors.
Trump might have ducked having to respond to questions examining his positions, statements and actions in the past, but with the unique political process of caucuses in Iowa, he might have lost voters to Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was just a percentage point lower than Trump, despite his not so impressive rating in the polls before the Iowa caucuses.
Cruz finished with 28 percent of the votes, Trump with 24 percent and Rubio 23 percent. All the other GOP candidates got single digit votes.
This result proves that the caucuses might have just reinforced the fact that Republicans in Iowa were looking for candidates who share their conservative principles and values. This triumphed over the birther issue raised by Trump against Cruz, not the Trump’s star power.
During the caucuses, voters actually openly discuss with other voters why they are voting for their selected candidate, and may even sway supporters of the other candidates to change their votes in favor of their candidate, or convince the undecided to join them in caucusing for their candidate.
Democratic caucuses
Who would have thought that 74-year-old Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders would be in a virtual tie with frontrunner former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Just a year ago, he was polling only 7 percent versus Clinton’s 68 percent. On caucus night in Iowa, Sanders and Clinton were in a virtual tie, with less than one percent difference between them: Clinton got 49.9, while Sanders got 49.6.
Because of the tightness of the race, officials resorted to coin toss, a practice allowed by rules for Democratic precincts. Des Moines Register reported on at least two instances of decisions by a coin toss, all breaking for Clinton.
Clinton might have been declared the winner in Iowa, but this could still change, and Sanders might still turn out to have won in this state. The Clinton victory was announced based on results from 1,682 of 1,683 precincts. One the result of precinct — precinct 42 — was reported missing, and according to the Des Moines Register, “Votes from one precinct in Iowa were still missing Tuesday morning, and Democrats from that neighborhood scrambled to find party officials so that they could report their tally: Bernie Sanders won by 2 delegates over Hillary Clinton.”
Heading to New Hampshire, both candidates have their own respective bragging rights. Clinton touts her experience and pragmatism, which she claims will make her beat whomever will be the Republican Party’s nominee for president.
However, Clinton needs the support of the young and first time voters who overwhelmingly support Sanders for his progressive principles, and his consistent stand in his fight against income inequality, and the power of the richest of the rich Americans and corporations over the people in Washington, to the detriment of the 99 percent of the population: hardworking middle class and poor Americans.
Clinton also needs to work on her other deficit — and that is the trust factor. Those who are not in her camp believes she has been in bed with Wall Street, corporations and big businesses who have contributed heavily to her campaign and paid her a lot of money for speeches. The Benghazi controversy and her email issues also add to this trust problem of Clinton.
On the other hand, Sanders has proven that even without help from Wall Street and big businesses, he can win because of the help and support from the grassroots who believe in his cause. The Sanders campaign has exceeded all expectations and raised more money, all coming from ordinary voters with an average of $27 contribution each to help catapult him to be the next president of the United States.
