Political Insider
Political Insider

Ted Cruz surges to a huge victory in Iowa

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the RedState Gathering at Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel on Saturday, August 8, 2015. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM Texas Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the RedState Gathering at Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel on Saturday, August 8, 2015. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the RedState Gathering at Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel on Saturday, August 8, 2015. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM Texas Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the RedState Gathering at Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel on Saturday, August 8, 2015. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
By
Feb 1, 2016

Des Moines, Iowa - Iowa voters long flirted with the populist-fueled campaign of Donald Trump. But when it came time to caucus, Iowa Republicans gave Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz a huge victory in the nation's first vote.

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, were deadlocked in a nail-biter with 90 percent of precincts reporting.

Trump and Sanders tapped into a deep vein of voter frustration with Washington, captivating raucous crowds at rallies across Iowa with brash promises to remake the federal government.

Yet droves of Iowa voters gave Cruz their stamp of approval amid a surge of turnout in the caucus. And Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio seemed to consolidate support among mainstream Republicans looking for an alternative to Trump and Cruz.

On the Democratic side, Sanders threatened Clinton’s aura of inevitability with a blend of economic populism and appeal to young, liberal voters with promises to expand federal government with a massive jobs program.

She fought back, though, with a far better showing than she had in Iowa when she fell to Barack Obama in 2008.

ExploreRead more about the vote by clicking here.

About the Author

Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.

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