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Iowa Democratic race
Texas Senator Ted Cruz has won the Iowa Republican caucuses, in the first vote of the US presidential campaign.
“Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives,” he declared, to great applause, as he railed against Washington, lobbyists and the media.
He took 26% of the Republican vote, beating his rival, the frontrunner Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio.
Votes in the Democratic race are still being counted, with Hillary Clinton’s camp saying they have narrowly won.
The aim of the primary and caucus races in the coming months is to determine which candidates will stand for the two main parties in the November presidential election.
Iowa caucus results
Republican vote, 99% reported:
- Ted Cruz: 26%, eight delegates
- Donald Trump: 23%, seven delegates
- Marco Rubio: 23%, seven delegates
- Ben Carson: 10%, three delegates
- Rand Paul, Jeb Bush: one delegate each.
- Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich and Rick Santorum: no delegates
Democratic vote, 99% reported:
- Hillary Clinton: 50%, 22 delegates
- Bernie Sanders: 47%, 21 delegates
- Martin O’Malley: 0%, no delegates
source: The Associated Press
There was no such ambiguity from Republican victor Mr Cruz, the 45-year-old conservative who is disliked by the Republican Party leadership.
“Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment,” he said.
Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Iowa
In the end it was a victory for organisation over enthusiasm. Despite trailing Donald Trump in the polls for much of the last two weeks, Ted Cruz swept to a comfortable win in Iowa.
During his victory speech, he repeatedly thanked his grass-roots support – and for good reason. He and his campaign had invested considerable time and money to grind out a victory in this key state, and they were ultimately rewarded for their efforts.
With this result Mr Cruz now has the momentum to survive what looks to be an uphill battle among the more moderate voters in New Hampshire, and then win over the deeply conservative, evangelical voters of Southern states that dominate the primary calendar in the following weeks.
It appears increasingly likely that a showdown for Mr Cruz looms on the horizon with the surprise third-place finisher in Iowa, Senator Marco Rubio. And Mr Trump – even if his supporters did not turn out in the numbers expected – will surely remain a factor.
BBC