Republican Party Iowa caucus results by votes 2016
U.S. 2016 Elections: Republican candidates - additional information
The Iowa caucuses, the first event of the 2016 Election year, took place on February 1 and yielded some interesting results in both the Democratic and the Republican camps. On one hand, the Democratic caucus has effectively eliminated all presidential hopefuls, except for two, which are running neck and neck – Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and New York Senator, and Bernie Sanders, Vermont Senator and former Congressman. The GOP caucus, on the other hand, has helped leveling the field between the different possible frontrunners, while still keeping nine major candidates in the game, namely: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and last but not least Donald Trump.
Although many opinion polls have been showing Trump as the winner in the race for the nomination, he came out second in the Iowa caucus, before Marco Rubio, but after Ted Cruz, who gained the most popular votes. Ted Cruz is preferred by the very conservative faction of Republican voters and scores lowest among moderates, who prefer Trump. Cruz is also most popular among 30 to 44 year-olds, with 31 percent of GOP voters in this age group having elected him on February 1. According to exit polls, Trump’s base tends to be stronger among older voters and among those with the least formal education, while Republican voters with college degrees and postgraduate studies tend to favor Rubio. All three candidates are strong on core GOP issues, such as eliminating immigration and protecting the Second Amendment rights and eliminating gun control.
Three candidates who were believed to have some chances throughout 2015 withdrew after the Iowa event, namely: former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. As of February 7, polls show Trump to be the winner of the New Hampshire Republican primary on February 9.