Iowa Caucuses Offer Surprises As Winners Are Revealed, Ben Carson Accuses Ted Cruz of Dirty Tricks


Senator Ted Cruz of Texas won the Iowa Caucus for the Republicans while Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont ran a close second to Hillary Clinton, and Clinton squeezed by to win the Iowa caucuses for the Democrats. Clinton received 49.87 percent of the vote while Sanders received 49.57 percent of the vote. Despite the small margin, Clinton was ruled the winner.

USA Today reported that Clinton ticked off her presidential goals at the Iowa caucuses that included dealing with climate change, reducing an increasing student debt, creating universal healthcare, and increasing rights for women, gays, immigrants, and workers. She said that the way to secure her goals was to win the Iowa caucuses and keep winning.

“We do that by securing the nomination, and then we do it by winning and going into that White House as others before have, determined to push forward on the great goals and values that unite us as Americans.”

The Iowa caucuses turned in a solid lead for Bernie Sanders, and he cited presidential goals similar to Clinton’s and added an additional goal of making all public education free.

“Nine months ago we came to this beautiful state, we had no political organization, we had no money, we had no name recognition and we were taking on the most powerful political organization in the United States of America… And tonight, while the results are still not known, it looks like we are in a virtual tie.”

Martin O’Malley placed third on the Democratic slate in the Iowa caucuses, while Republican Rick Santorum reassessed his candidacy. Although Santorum won the Iowa caucus in 2012, this time, he earned less than one percent of the votes.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas defeated billionaire Donald Trump for the top spot for the Republicans. Although Cruz had previously trailed Trump in the voting, he set a record for the number of votes he received in the Iowa caucuses. Cruz received 27.65 percent of the vote while Trump received 24.31 percent. Senator Marco Rubio placed number three with 23.09 percent of the vote.

There were two casualties from the night. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee both called it quits, suspending both their campaigns as they failed to connect with voters in the Iowa caucuses. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said that he would be heading back to Florida for “clean clothes,” while the other candidates head to New Hampshire for the next caucus.

Time reported that Ben Carson accused Ted Cruz of engaging in dirty tricks. Carson said that Cruz sent emails to supporters to spread false rumors about him, and Carson said that this was the reason he got involved in politics. He wanted to do something about the dirty tricks involved in politics. Ed Brookover, the campaign manager for Carson, said that Carson was far from out of the race.

“To have campaigns come out and send emails to their caucus speakers suggesting that Dr. Carson was doing anything but moving forward after tonight is the lowest of low in American politics.”

Members of Carson’s campaign team produced evidence that precinct captains were part of the alleged misconduct by the Cruz campaign. Ryan Rhodes, Carson’s Iowa state director, showed reporters a text he had received on his phone. Another precinct chair announced that he had received an email saying that Carson and his team were taking a break from campaigning. Senator Cruz’s team denies the allegations, and while the Iowa caucuses are over, the candidates head to New Hampshire for the next caucus.

[Photo by Brendon Hoffman/Getty Images]

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