Little separates Clinton and Sanders in tight Iowa race

DES MOINES, Iowa — Mrs Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont were locked in an intensely tight race in the Iowa caucuses Monday (Feb 1) as Mrs Clinton’s strong support among women and older voters was matched by the passionate liberal foot soldiers whom Mr Sanders has been calling to political revolution.

The close results were deeply unnerving to Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as well as her advisers, some of whom had expressed growing confidence in recent days that they had recaptured political momentum after weeks when Sanders was drawing huge crowds and rising in the polls. The Clintons had appeared optimistic at rallies over the weekend, thanking Iowans for their support as much as urging them to turn out to vote.

The close vote means that Mrs Clinton and Mr Sanders are likely to split Iowa’s share of delegates to the Democratic convention, and Mr Sanders will be able to argue that the Iowa result was a virtual tie.

The Clinton team was counting on its huge, well-trained army of volunteers, covering all of Iowa’s 1,681 voting precincts, to counter the enormous enthusiasm of voters who jammed into events to hear Mr Sanders. But his well-financed Iowa organization was able to convert the energy of his crowds into voters Monday night, as he drew huge numbers of first-time caucusgoers, young people and liberals who responded to his rallying cry against the nation’s “rigged economy.”

The virtual tie between the two candidates instantly raised the stakes for their next faceoff, the primary next Tuesday in New Hampshire. Mr Sanders holds a solid lead in polls there and has the advantage of being from Vermont; candidates from neighboring states have won the state’s primary in recent decades, and Sanders is admired in the state.

Clinton advisers said late Monday night that Bill and Hillary Clinton were discussing bringing on additional staff members to strengthen her campaign operation now that a pitched battle may lie ahead against Sanders. The advisers said they did not know if a significant staff shakeup was at hand, but they said the Clintons were disappointed with Monday night’s result and wanted to ensure that her organization, political messaging and communications strategy were in better shape for the contests to come.

At her caucus night party here, Clinton sought to put the best face on a tight result that had nearly half of Democrats voting against her. “As I stand here tonight breathing a big sigh of relief * thank you, Iowa!” she said, joined on stage by Bill Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea.

“I am excited about really getting into the debate with Sen. Sanders about the best way forward to fight for us and America,” Mrs Clinton said.

Mr Sanders, who spoke shortly after she finished, laughed as his crowd chanted “feel the Bern,” his campaign’s unofficial slogan. “Thank you * Iowa, thank you!” Sanders said.

Noting that he began his Iowa campaign with “no name recognition” and “no money,” Sanders drew ecstatic cheers as he said he took on the Clintons * “the most powerful political organization in the United States of America” * and drove them into a tie.

“I think the people of Iowa have sent a very profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment, and by the way, to the media establishment,” Mr Sanders said. “That is, given the enormous crises facing our country, it is just too late for establishment politics and establishment economics.” NEW YORK TIMES