BONDURANT, IOWA — Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernard Sanders were locked in a tight battle in early returns from Iowa’s caucuses Monday night, as were Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump on the GOP side, with the billionaire businessman looking for voters to validate his unorthodox campaign.
The rise of Mr. Trump, Mr. Cruz and Mr. Sanders — who all ran as challengers to their party’s establishment — underscored the tremendous unease among voters here, with caucusgoers saying they were looking for someone to shake up the system and stand up for forgotten Americans.
In both races, heavy turnout and a surge of new registrants appeared to boost the insurgents.
One of those new voters was Dennis Marshall, a retired deputy sheriff who has never caucused before but who arrived at the precinct in Bondurant, about 15 miles north of Des Moines, prepared to deliver a speech urging fellow Iowans to back Mr. Trump and shock the country.
“Trump isn’t like the rest,” Mr. Marshall said ahead of his speech. “Everybody is tired of the establishment people. I’m just so afraid of what this country has become.”
Iowa kicks off the primary schedule for both Democrats and Republicans, to be followed next by New Hampshire’s primary Feb. 9, and then primaries and caucuses throughout the rest of the country. Both parties have heated contests this year, with Mr. Trump having upended the massive GOP field, and Mr. Sanders posing a stiffer-than-expected challenge to Mrs. Clinton on the Democratic side.
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With 55 percent of precincts reporting, Mrs. Clinton had earned 51 percent of the delegates awarded in Monday’s caucuses, and Mr. Sanders had 48 percent. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley trailed far behind, with less than 1 percent of delegates.
Mrs. Clinton, who has clung to President Obama during this campaign, appeared to be benefitting from that strategy, as many Iowa Democrats said they weren’t ready for the lurch even further to the left that Mr. Sanders would represent.
“I just like her and I don’t like Bernie Sanders. He’s going to raise taxes — he’s said so, ’I’m going to raise taxes’ — and who’s going to pay for it? We are,” said Mike Regan, caucusing in Council Bluffs, on the western side of the state. “Unless he can get Trump to pay for it.”
Entrance polls found nearly three in five Democrats said they wanted to continue Mr. Obama’s policies, and Mrs. Clinton overwhelmingly won those voters. Those who wanted a more liberal direction, meanwhile, went to Mr. Sanders.
Fred Turnbaugh, wearing a Navy ballcap and a “Give ’em Hell, Bernie” lapel pin on his jeans jacket while caucusing at Franklin Elementary School in Council Bluffs, said he appreciated the Vermont senator’s allegiance to blue-collar workers.
“I’ve always liked the way he’s pro-worker and takes care of the middle class,” said Mr. Turnbaugh.
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The caucuses are a peculiar type of election, with voters required to show up at a set time, and to be subjected to cajoling by their neighbors.
On the Republican side, after the speaking is done voters cast secret ballots. But on the Democratic side, voters actually stand together based on the candidate they’re supporting — and if a candidate does poorly, his or her supporters are disbanded and have to either join another candidate’s supporters or sit out the vote altogether.
The large size of the GOP field meant the Republican results were coming in slower, with just one-third of precincts reporting and Mr. Cruz ahead in the early going, nipping Mr. Trump 29 percent to 26 percent.
Sen. Marco Rubio had a firm grip on third place at 20 percent, with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson fourth at 10 percent and the rest of the field polling at 5 percent or less.
Particularly stunning were the vote totals for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Sen. Rick Santorum, the winners of the 2008 and 2012 caucuses, respectively. They both trailed well behind, with Mr. Huckabee at 2 percent and Mr. Santorum at 1 percent.
Mr. Trump has dominated the discussion on the Republican side, having taken control of the race last summer with his announcement speech and his vow to deport illegal immigrants and build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico to stop future illegal crossers.
That put immigration back squarely in the center of the GOP conversation, and voters responded.
“He is the loudest voice against the invasion on the borders and if we don’t fix that, everything else is pretty much academic,” said Mike Beer, 62, a paralegal in Bondurant. “If we don’t stop that we’re not going to solve our economic issues, our national security issues or our military issues.”
It was the second time Mr. Beer had gone to the caucuses. The first time was in 2012 for Mr. Santorum, who won that year based on the support of evangelical voters, who dominate the Iowa GOP. Mr. Beer described himself as an evangelical voter, but said the race wasn’t about religious issues.
“Until we seal the borders, it will be pretty hard to solve anything else,” he said.
Still, Mr. Cruz won the precinct with 51 of the 167 ballots cast. Mr. Rubio was second with 37 votes, and Mr. Trump was third with 28, only slightly ahead of Mr. Carson.
Mr. Rubio’s showing statewide was important, as he hopes to chase a trio of establishment-backed governors from the race and try to unify anti-Trump and anti-Cruz voters. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush didn’t campaign heavily in Iowa, realizing they didn’t have much chance with the socially conservative voters here.
That sets up New Hampshire as the winnowing ground.
On the Democratic side, no such winnowing is likely, with only two viable candidates likely to fight on for some time.
Mr. Sanders is crushing Mrs. Clinton in the polls in New Hampshire, with a University of Massachusetts Lowell/7News released Monday giving him the support of 61 percent of Democratic voters, while Mrs. Clinton pulled in just 30 percent.
Like Mr. Obama in 2008, Mr. Sanders has energized young Democrats, especially those who identify as progressives. Polls show young voters overwhelmingly back the Vermont senator, while Mrs. Clinton holds a commanding lead among older voters.
But there also are deeper problems for Mrs. Clinton and her quest for the Democratic nomination. Surveys consistently have shown that Democrats consider Mr. Sanders much more honest and trustworthy than Mrs. Clinton.
The perception of dishonesty — which the Clinton campaign has been unable to shake — has grown amid revelations classified information passed through the private email account Mrs. Clinton used while secretary of state.
Mrs. Clinton has tried to curry favor among Democrats by positioning herself as the heir apparent to Mr. Obama. She’s praised the president’s actions on financial regulation, foreign policy and health care, all while trying to position Mr. Sanders as a candidate willing to tear apart pieces of Mr. Obama’s legacy.
The Clinton campaign has zeroed in on Mr. Sanders’ health-care plan, a universal, single-payer system that would entirely undo the current U.S. health-care system. It’s projected to cost $1.38 trillion, according to Sanders campaign estimates.
Mrs. Clinton has said such an approach is a mistake and would undo all the progress made in the years since the Affordable Care Act — Mr. Obama’s signature domestic achievement — became law.
Mr. Sanders has shot back against those attacks and argues his plan would build on Obamacare, not destroy it.
• Valerie Richardson reported from Council Bluffs. Ben Wolfgang, reporting from Washington, contributed to this report.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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