DES MOINES — Hillary Clinton “breathed a huge sigh of relief” as she declared victory in Iowa, even as polls still showed her tying Bernie Sanders in the Hawkeye State.
“It is rare that we have the opportunity to do what we will do now, to really have a contest of ideas. To grab what the Democratic Party stands for,” Clinton told supporters in Des Moines. “I’m excited to really get into a debate with Senator Sanders about what to do what is right for America going forward.”
With 94.4 percent of the vote in as Monday night rolled into Tuesday, Clinton and Sanders remained in a dead heat, with the former secretary of state holding on 49.49 percent to Sanders’ 49.58 percent.
When she began her campaign, Clinton led Sanders by over 50 points in Iowa, but as the Vermont senator’s support surged, she lost her once-assumed lead. The two candidates will head to New Hampshire overnight to begin campaigning, barring that the blizzard coming through Iowa does not ground their respective flights.
Clinton also wished former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley “the best” as he suspended his campaign after failing to get 0.5 percent of the vote.
Sanders has gained a following by appealing to voters who stand politically further to the left than Clinton.
“I know we may have differences of opinions about how to best achieve our goals. But I believe we have a very clear idea that the Democratic Party, and this campaign, has the best ideas for America,” Clinton said.
In a statement, the Republican National Committee called the Iowa results “nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for Hillary Clinton and the Democrat Party.”
“The Democrat establishment wanted a coronation for Clinton but is now facing the very real prospect that a self-proclaimed socialist could be their party’s nominee,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said. “Tonight was a clear statement that Democrat primary voters find Clinton’s hypocrisy and scandals so unpalatable that they are willing to vote for an unelectable 74 year-old socialist from Vermont. With damaging new developments breaking in her email scandal and an all-but-certain loss next week in New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign drastically underperformed when they desperately needed to over deliver.”
