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[h=4]Ted Cruz gets major win over Donald Trump in Iowa[/h]Iowa's evening caucuses set the contours of the race for GOP nomination.
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Ted Cruz has defeated Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses. Marco Rubio was a close third, according to late returns. VPC
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, arrives for a caucus night rally on Feb. 1, 2016, in Des Moines.(Photo: Chris Carlson, AP)
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Texas Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses on Monday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>come-from-behind<span style="color: Red;">*</span>victory that raises questions about the billionaire's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ability to translate his support in political<span style="color: Red;">*</span>polls into actual votes.
"God bless the great state of Iowa," Cruz told cheering supporters in Des Moines.
Hailing his grass-roots organization for helping generate a record turnout for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Republican caucuses, Cruz said that "tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across Iowa and all across this great nation."
The win also proves that the "Washington establishment,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the lobbyists,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and the media<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will not be picking the Republican nominee, he added, but the American people will.
Trump, who like Cruz waged an anti-establishment battle in Iowa, congratulated the victor<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but told downcast supporters than he still plans to win the Republican nomination and the presidency.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>While expressing his love for the Hawkeye State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I might come here and buy a farm" — Trump also pointed to upcoming Republican primaries in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>New Hampshire (Feb. 9) and South Carolina (Feb. 20).
"On to New Hampshire," the businessman<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said.
Trump barely held<span style="color: Red;">*</span>off Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who was poised to finish a strong<span style="color: Red;">*</span>third and declared that his showing makes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>him a major competitor for the Republican nomination.
"This is no ordinary election," Rubio told supporters,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>calling the result an important step<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to "winning this election."
Rubio also saluted former Arkansas governor<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mike Huckabee, the 2008 Iowa<span style="color: Red;">*</span>caucus winner who announced he was suspending his campaign after a poor finish on Monday.
USA TODAY
Huckabee ends GOP presidential bid
While recent polls gave Trump a slight lead over Cruz<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Iowa,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cruz told supporters<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he saw<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a statistical tie as voters headed for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>caucus locations<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Monday night.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>While both<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cruz and Trump emphasized efforts to attract new voters to the polls, Cruz and his team appeared to do the better job.
The vote also came less than a week after Trump boycotted a Republican debate in Des Moines, claiming sponsors at Fox News treated him unfairly.
Other Republican candidates — Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and Carly Fiorina —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>all fought in Iowa mainly to exceed expectations.
The campaign for Carson, who was running fourth, issued a statement denying media reports that the retired neurosurgeon plans to suspend his campaign.
Bush, who left Iowa earlier Monday to start campaigning in New Hampshire,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>dismissed the Iowa results before the caucuses even began.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Citing Trump in particular,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bush told a crowd in Manchester that <span style="color: Red;">*</span>“the front-runner candidate — at least as it stands right now — is a candidate who, it’s all about him. That is not what we need in Washington, D.C.”
As for Cruz and Rubio, two first-term senators, Bush dismissed them as "back-benchers who have never done anything of consequence in their life."
Christie also flew from Iowa to New Hampshire Monday afternoon, focusing on the state that offers him his best hope for gaining momentum in the GOP nominating contest.
The caucuses capped an extraordinary<span style="color: Red;">*</span>campaign in which Cruz and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>attracted support by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>running against the Republican establishment as well as President Obama.
Trump, the businessman who rose to fame in the 1980s as a media-savvy developer, entered the Republican race in June by denouncing Mexican immigrants who are<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the U.S. illegally. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>called<span style="color: Red;">*</span>most of them criminals and accused<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Mexican government of encouraging<span style="color: Red;">*</span>them to enter<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the United States. The Mexican government denied it, and Hispanic groups staged demonstrations at many Trump rallies.
USA TODAY
Iowa caucuses: What's happening right now
The immigration issue<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>denunciations of "stupid" politicians who are ruining the country<span style="color: Red;">*</span>helped Trump expand his lead nationally and in early voting states<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— an edge that was further solidified in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Calif., which<span style="color: Red;">*</span>elevated national security as a top concern for voters.
While attacking the government's counterterrorism polices, Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. That plan<span style="color: Red;">*</span>drew criticism from Republican opponents as well as national and international officials.
Cruz, meanwhile, focused his campaign<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on Iowa and Southern states holding early primaries, targeting their high numbers of religious conservatives. Evangelicals made up<span style="color: Red;">*</span>more than half of Iowa GOP caucus-goers in 2012.
USA TODAY
Cruz's Iowa bid fueled by evangelicals, religious conservatives
In the beginning of the campaign, Trump and Cruz treated each other with deference on the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>trail, even as they chased similar pools of voters.
That changed as Cruz caught and eventually passed Trump in Iowa polls.
Donald Trump waves at a caucus night gathering in West Des Moines.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)
The businessman<span style="color: Red;">*</span>responded with a torrent of criticism directed at the Texan. Trump questioned whether Cruz is even eligible for the presidency, citing his birth in Canada.
Cruz, arguing that he is eligible because his mother was a U.S. citizen, responded by questioning Trump's commitment to conservatism, citing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his past support for Democratic<span style="color: Red;">*</span>candidates and causes.
Throughout the campaign, Trump methodically went after any GOP candidate who challenged him. He first went after the well-funded Bush, branding the son and brother of previous presidents as a "low-energy" candidate. When retired neurosurgeon Carson rose in the polls. Trump also attacked his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>energy level as well as aspects of his life story.
The billionaire also took on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Democratic critics, protesters<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and journalists during his tumultuous campaign.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Reflecting his hyper-aggressive style Monday in Cedar Rapids,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Trump said security warned him that someone in the crowd might throw a tomato at him.
USA TODAY
Trump makes final pitch to Iowans ahead of caucuses
"If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato ... knock the crap out of them," Trump said.
The billionaire offered to pay legal fees if a fight broke out, though none did.
Contributing: Chrissie<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Thompson, The Cincinnati Enquirer
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