Iowa voters knocked at least one Republican and one Democratic candidate out of the presidential race Monday night.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won this state in 2008, barely took the time to watch the results come in before announcing he was dropping out of the race. He took just 1.8 percent of the vote.
Democratic candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, took just 0.6 percent of the vote after a campaign which voters appeared not even to notice, let alone embrace. He announced shortly after voting closed Monday that he would be suspending his campaign.
It was also a crushing night for Huckabee’s frequent sparring partner in the undercard debates, 2012 Iowa winner and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Santorum told the Des Moines Register as results came in that he would take time to reconsider his campaign after taking just 1 percent of the vote.
A couple of other candidates were notable for their ominous silence.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, once favorite for the nomination, secured less than 3 percent of the vote and finished in sixth place. He won’t take a single delegate from the Hawkeye State.
In fact, he did not even show up in Iowa Monday night. Instead he spent his night campaigning in New Hampshire. None of the major cable news networks bothered to carry any remarks from him.
California businesswoman Carly Fiorina was in Iowa Monday night, but not for long. Once it became clear that her hopes were going to be dashed — she secured only 1.9 percent of the Iowa GOP vote — Fiorina hopped on a private jet to get to New Hampshire ahead of an incoming snow storm.
Fiorina was scheduled to attend her own party, but decided to get on the plane and quit the state instead.
Some GOP governors, such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, had rough night in Iowa, which was expected as they long ago turned their attention almost exclusively to New Hampshire. They didn’t pick up any delegates and took less than 2 percent of the vote each.
