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GOP's Huckabee, Dems' Obama win Iowa caucuses
By USA TODAY staff
DES MOINES — Barack Obama won Thursday's Iowa
Democratic caucuses and Mike Huckabee was the victor in the GOP race,
providing major boosts to both campaigns with the New Hampshire primary
only days away.
With 86% of precincts reporting, Huckabee had 34% of the GOP vote, followed by Mitt Romney with 25%, Fred Thompson and John McCain with 13% and Ron Paul with 10%.
POLITICS BLOG: The latest caucus news
On the Democratic side, with 98% of precincts reporting, Obama had 38% of the vote, followed by John Edwards with 30% and Hillary Rodham Clinton with 29%. "I'm amazed, but I'm encouraged, because what we've seen is a new day in American politics," said Huckabee. FIND MORE STORIES IN: Republican | Democrats | GOP | Iowa | John McCain | Mitt Romney | Politics | Obama | Fred Thompson
Huckabee a former minister and Arkansas governor, was heavily outspent by Romney in Iowa but was ahead in recent polls. He was depending on strong support from the state's evangelical community. "The first thing we've learned is people really are more important than the purse. What a great lesson for America to learn," he said. More than half of Republican caucus voters said they were born-again or evangelical Christians, and nearly half of them supported Huckabee, according to entrance interviews by the Associated Press and the television networks. Romney led among non-evangelical voters by 2-to-1 or more. Obama, a senator from neighboring Illinois, is bidding to become the nation's first black president. He won the caucuses in a state that was 94.6% white in 2006, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. "On this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do," Obama told cheering supporters. "We came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents to say we are one nation, we are one people, and our time has come." Obama pledged to "build a coalition that stretches through red states and blue states" in his drive to become president. Clinton told supporters the results showed Democrats "are sending a clear message — that we are going to have change, and the change is going to be a Democratic president in 2009." She also went back to familiar themes, saying Democrats should "nominate a candidate who will go the distance, and who will be the best president on Day One." "I am so ready for the rest of this campaign and I am so ready to lead," she said. "The one thing that's clear from the results in Iowa tonight is the status quo lost and change won," Edwards told his supporters. He said the results had "started a tidal wave of change."
POLL TRACKER: How the candidates are faring in Iowa
Iowa may set up an epic Obama-Clinton showdown in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. That battle could be partly generational. Surveys of voters entering polling places indicated Clinton's support was 2 to 1 over Obama's among those 65 and older. Obama's support was 5 to 1 over Clinton among those 30 and younger.Half were first-time caucusgoers — a group most targeted by Obama. The entry polls, sponsored by the Associated Press and TV networks, found that about half said a candidate's ability to bring about needed change was the most important factor in choosing a candidate. That was more than twice as many who cited experience, Clinton's trump card. For some candidates, Thursday results paved the way to an exit. Democrats Chris Dodd and Joseph Biden, senator from Connecticut and Delaware respectively, were poised to leave the race, the Associated Press reported late Thursday. Each drew less than 2% of the final caucus votes. "I think there are three — maybe four — tickets out of Iowa and if we don't get one of those three or four, at least in my case, I'll be heading back (home) to Hartford tomorrow morning,"Dodd said earlier Thursday in a Fox News interview with Chris Wallace. "And if I get one of those four tickets, I have a plane waiting to take me to Manchester, N.H. tonight." Earlier Thursday, Thompson denied reports that he was considering dropping out of the GOP race after Iowa. "At the end of the evening, things are going to look different to all of us," he told Tim Russert on MSNBC. "Some may get shellacked, some may get a strong wind to our back. I expect a strong win. We'll see."
CAUCUS SYSTEM: What is a caucus?
The focus immediately moves to New Hampshire, which holds its primary Tuesday. McCain was already there campaigning Thursday night. Huckabee's victory sets the stage for a three-way contest there with Romney and McCain, who won the state in 2000.For Huckabee, New Hampshire will test whether he's a one-state wonder. "Negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there (in Iowa) and they don't work here in New Hampshire," McCain told supporters Thursday night as the results came in. The remark was an apparent shot at Romney, who went on the attack against Huckabee in the days leading up to the caucuses. Rudy Giuliani, who tallied only 4% of the Iowa vote, turned his attention elsewhere. He was campaigning in Florida on Thursday night. Obama, Clinton and Edwards spent at least $19 million on television advertising among them, and all three capped their campaigns with statewide broadcasts on Wednesday. Romney told supporters in a final day-long swing around the state he had been in 68 of 99 counties since he began his quest for the White House, had spent 55 days in Iowa and spoken before 248 separate audiences. Some Iowans seemed ready for the campaign to end. Bob Wiedmann, a retired Indianola contractor, hopes whoever wins the presidency will pass a law barring political phone solicitations. "I have had, I swear, 200 phone calls," he said. Contributing: Susan Page, Jill Lawrence, Kathy Kiely and David Jackson in Iowa; Douglas Stanglin and Randy Lilleston in McLean, Va.; Associated Press
Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.
Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.
Comments: (1,218) Showing: 
White Trash wrote:
3m ago
pirate 21,
The bullet was in his neck you idiot! But we'll see you in hell soon enough
radar015 wrote:
3m ago
printguy wrote: 8y 294d ago:
/>>No wonder i just scroll through the first and last pages of these threads.. . Sometime i think we all are so divided that we'll never find a center again. We are all Americans. Lets start acting like it!!!!<< Who cares about uniting with the 30% who support bush? We have to tolerate them. We don't have to unite with them. 
washingtonputter wrote:
3m ago
Really
looking forward to Huckabee bringing his smarmy self righteous attitude
out East of the Rockies. It will be a very chilly reception, and I
don't believe he can win anywhere out here. Enjoy Iowa buddy, hope it
was fun, and may your campaign smash on the rocks of common sense and
tolerance as soon as possible.
jeffj4873 wrote:
4m ago
weedmusic wrote: 3m ago
abctruth wrote: 14m ago Does this mean we will have to change the national bird to the fried chicken?!?!? This mentality is what Obama is up against, hate and racism are immune to logic, facts or reason, that is a stern foe. ________________________________ That mentality is getting smaller and smaller as time goes on. But USA Today seems to keep it's few. I can't figure why? I still have trouble believing they can work computers. Go figure 
mako wrote:
4m ago
CharliChanBluDog wrote: 6m ago
Barack Obama's Speech - Said It All - the only obstacle that stands in Obama's way is the Racism that still rips at the soul of this country... Sad ===== Yes use the race card at every possible turn. It works in this country right now. 
Cassndra7 wrote:
5m ago
Independent28 wrote: 8h 11m ago
All of these candidates are a joke. Where are the Jeffersons? The Washingtons? The Adams? Oh, that's right. They are all in the business world making millions and not being subject to the judgment of every American. Big media has killed politics - don't expect anything new from career politicians or political families. Big media has not killed politics....Big media CONTROLS politics. You get to vote for whomever they decide you should vote for. And anyone that doesn't fill the criteria of a "friend of the media" is ignored, then laughed at, then fought. Check out what the FCC has done to the media ownership regulations in the last 10-20 years, that will give you a VERY clear picture of who controls who runs and who gets voted for. Ron Paul 2008 I'd never vote for anyone I didn't thoroughly research. Would you?
briles wrote:
5m ago
if you like what Chavez is doing in Venezuela you'll love what Obama has in mind for America thank God he'll never have the chance 
rawn4203 wrote:
5m ago
Republicans
are the reason america is the laughingstock of the world. When those
spineless fools impeached clinton for sex lies, all of europe laughed.
Republicans take joy in killing animals, starting unprovoked wars to give no-bid contracts to their friends, running up the deficit, and letting terrorist attacks happen on their watch. We can have no more of this. 
weedmusic wrote:
6m ago
check out this evil hatred:
"mako wrote: 8y 294d ago : /> />yep, he's the son of a misguided and disillusioned white waif from Kansas who married a Kenyan who promptly left her after the birth of Barack -- nothing unusual about that black daddy; then the poor girl with little self-esteem married a Indonesian muslim and Barack was raised in Indonesia as a muslim and attended a madrassas fundamentalist school for several years. for those not in the know -- madrassas schools are the brainwashing factories of islamic fundamentalists for growing their little terrorists and martyrs then his maternal grandparents got him out of that morass and took him to Hawaii. however good-intentioned these people were, they are the people who raised his full-bubble off level momma then he is an affirmative action entrant to harvard and ends up as a southside black community worker in chicago what a path" I cannot over-emphasize how racist most whites still are. The beauty of anonymous boards such as this, is that the true nature of white American racism will still render it's sick, satanic head. This white American racism is Obama's biggest opponet. |
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