Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was the winner of the GOP Iowa caucus Monday night — the first of the 2016 presidential election — while Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders ended the night with a virtual tie.

Cruz, the GOP candidate, won 28 percent support and eight delegates. With 95 percent of the votes counted, Clinton held a narrow lead over Sanders with 50.1 percent, while Sanders had 49.4 percent, according to CNN.

In the GOP race, Donald Trump came in second with 24 percent and seven delegates. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finished in a strong third with 23 percent and six delegates, right behind Trump, according to The Washington Post.

Before Monday, Cruz was second in a poll from the De Moines Register, only receiving 23 percent of the vote. Trump, according to the poll, was in the lead with 28 percent.

In response to the second place finish, Trump said he is “incredibly honored” and might buy a farm in Iowa.

Cruz, in his victory speech, called his win a “victory for the grassroots” and “courageous conservatives.” He added that the next president will not be chosen by the Washington, D.C. establishment or lobbyists.

On the Democratic side, pre-caucus polls had Clinton and Sanders in a tight race, which was reflected in their virtual tie. According to The Huffington Post, Clinton was beating Sanders by three points before Monday.

Clinton, who spoke in Iowa on Monday, said she is a “progressive who get things done.”

Republican Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race and so did Democrat Martin O’Malley, after receiving less than 1 percent of the vote.

During the caucus, rumors circulated that Ben Carson left Iowa early because he was dropping out of the race, but an official with his campaign said he left Iowa and went back to his home in Florida to get a “fresh set of clothes,” according to BuzzFeed News.

Carson ended up picking up two delegates and 9 percent support in fourth place.

Sen. Rand Paul finished fifth with one delegate. Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and Ohio Gov. John Kasich finished in sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, neither of them picked up any delegates.

Iowa is one of 10 states that has a caucus system instead of a primary election.

Iowa also doesn’t have a “winner-take-all” system for garnering delegates. That means that delegates — who choose candidates at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions — are allocated based on the proportion of votes each candidate gets, according to Yahoo Politics.

The next primary in New Hampshire — which will be held on Feb. 9 — will be an election, not a caucus.

Published on February 2, 2016 at 1:00 am

Contact Rachel: rsandler@syr.edu