Americas

Americas

Hillary Clinton wins Iowa caucuses

02 February 2016 19:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Hillary Clinton has won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, according to final results from the Iowa Democratic Party, APA reports quoting CNN.

She just edges Bernie Sanders in the total of state delegate equivalents awarded Monday night.

But the narrow win, which follows a long night in which the two candidates remained deadlocked, means Clinton faces the prospect of an extended fight for the Democratic presidential nomination. She may have to wait until late February for a realistic chance to put a solid win in her column. Sanders holds a strong lead in New Hampshire, the next state to vote on February 9.

Nevada holds its Democratic caucuses on February 20 and the South Carolina Democratic primary is a week later and Clinton could fare better in those more diverse electorates.

Campaigns are fueled by victories and Clinton's muddled Iowa showing will leave her supporters, donors and campaign staffers without bragging rights, possibly dampening enthusiasm and further ceding ground to Sanders.

Clinton spoke at a rally in Nashua, New Hampshire, earlier Tuesday before the Iowa Democratic Party's announcement. She sounded confident even though she had not yet been declared the winner.

"I am so thrilled to be coming to New Hampshire after winning Iowa! I have won and I have lost there, it is a lot better to win," she told the crowd.

However, Sanders moved quickly to capitalize on his little-guy-fighting-the-Democratic-machine narrative in his speech last night, suggesting that with his Iowa finish, his "political revolution," had finally begun.

Sanders is turning his attention to New Hampshire's primary on February 9 and beyond.

"We're going to fight really hard in New Hampshire and then we're going to Nevada, to South Carolina, we're doing well around the country," the Vermont senator said shortly after his campaign plane landed in New Hampshire.

The Iowa results showcased a Democratic Party with stark demographic fissures along class, race, age and ideological lines. While it appeared that Clinton would wrap up the nomination quickly, the caucus results suggest the primary battle will be a long and hard fought referendum on what the Democratic Party should be.

And the eventual winner will be tasked with bridging a party that could be much more split -- and damaged --than it was in 2008 after Clinton's battle with Obama.

Greg Guma, who has watched Sanders' political career since the 1970s, predicted a protracted fight.

"This is a campaign that will go all the way to the convention," Guma, author of "The People's Republic: Vermont and the Sanders Revolution" said. "He will stay in this race even if she is mathematically winning. He will influence what is in the platform and what Clinton says at the convention."