NEWBURY, N.H. (AP) – Next up: New Hampshire.
Presidential contenders on Tuesday turned their airplanes and their hopes to the next arena in the fight for the nomination, a state that will test Ted Cruz’s broad appeal and give Hillary Clinton yet another chance to revive a battered campaign in the Granite State.
Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders fought to a virtual dead heat in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, an outcome that suggested the Democratic contest was headed toward a protracted wrestling match between its progressive and pragmatic wings.
On the Republican side, Cruz’s win provided a twist worthy of the topsy-turvy race. Winning 27.7 percent support, the Texas senator proved to be beloved by evangelicals, even if much-maligned by many others in his party, and adept at mounting a powerful grassroots operation. Donald Trump’s second-place finish at 24.3 percent was a humbling blow to the boastful mogul who had dominated the polls for weeks. Coming in at a close third with 23.1 percent, Marco Rubio was catapulted to the top of heap of establishment candidates vying to be the party’s preferred alternative to Trump or Cruz.
With all precincts reporting, Clinton led Sanders by less than three-tenths of 1 percent. The Iowa Democratic Party declared the contest “the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history.” Sanders did not concede the race to Clinton, his spokesman Michael Briggs saying Tuesday that they are “still assessing” whether to ask Iowa’s Democratic Party for a recount.