The Iowa caucus has long been the first major event of the presidential nomination process. The simplified answer as to why the Iowa caucus is so important to the presidential candidates is that it is the first time people are able to officially voice their opinions on whom they want to be president. The caucus night happened on Feb. 1 and takes place in 1,744 precincts across the state
This year’s Iowa caucus was won by Ted Cruz in the Republican party, beating out Donald Trump by about five percent. In the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton narrowly won over Bernie Sanders by a few decimals.
After the results, Trump called for a do-over.
“Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified," Trump tweeted on Feb. 3. "Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated."
Because of the narrow margin by which Clinton won, Democratic officials are currently reviewing the results “after a very small number of concerns were raised," a spokesman said Saturday.
Sam Lau, the spokesperson for the Democratic Party told CNN, “Both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns have flagged a very small number of concerns for us, and we are looking at them all on a case-by-case basis. We are still in the review process of gathering information and speaking with local leaders."
According to the Des Moines Register, "Much of the confusion over counts that's proliferating in social media stems from confusion over the caucus process. Democrats physically divide at the caucus site into presidential preference groups and then realign if any candidate's group fails to reach a viability threshold, typically 15 percent. The winner of the caucuses is determined by state delegate equivalents, tied to a math formula, not head counts. The final verdict at the end of the night was that Clinton was the winner even if it was by a very slight margin."
Clinton’s campaign quickly declared, “Hillary Clinton has won the Iowa Caucus, after thorough reporting — and analysis — of results, there is no uncertainty and Secretary Clinton has clearly won the most national and state delegates.”
This race proved how difficult a time the Democratic Party is having choosing between Clinton and Sanders. Just from these preliminary results, the race itself looks like it will be a close one for both parties.
