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2008 Presidential Election Caucus Results

Written by Clinton

Thursday, 19 August 2004

Senator Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses, pushing Hillary Rodham Clinton to third place and taking a major stride in a historic bid to become the nation's first African American president. Mike Huckabee won the opening round among Republicans in the 2008 campaign for the White House. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina appeared headed for second place, relegating Clinton, the former first lady, to a close third. Huckabee  defeated Mitt Romney despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars and deciding in the campaign's final days to scrap television commercials that would have assailed the former Massachusetts governor.  Former Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. John McCain battled for third place. Clinton called Obama to congratulate him, aides said, leading some to speculate her hedging her bets with leaving the door open for a vice president slot.  Her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, vowed, "This race begins tonight and ends when Democrats throughout America have their say. Our campaign was built for a marathon and we have the resources to run a national race in the weeks ahead."  Edwards told The Associated Press in an interview he would continue to run. Romney sought to frame his defeat as something less than that, saying he had trailed Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, by more than 20 points a few weeks ago. "I've been pleased that I've been able to make up ground and I intend to keep making up ground, not just here but across the country," he said. Obama outpolled Clinton among women, and benefited from a surge in first-time caucus-goers. More than half of those who participated said they had never been to a caucus before, and Obama won the backing of roughly 40 percent of them. Edwards did best among veteran caucus-goers, garnering 30 percent of their vote. Obama and Clinton each got about a quarter of their support. With President Bush constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, both parties have had broad reaching and costly campaigns. Arizona Sen. McCain, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Tennessee Sen. Thompson were also on the ballot, although their aides made no claim they were in the running for a first-place finish. So, too, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who largely abandoned the state in the campaign's final days.

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