I have not paid much attention to the caucuses until this year. As I try to find a candidate worth voting for, Republican or Democrat, I will be paying close attention to the caucus results. The Iowa caucus was our first chance to see how the nation views its potential presidents. The next caucus takes place in New Hampshire on Feb. 8.
Although I am not surprised with who placed first and second, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump respectively, it does not make me feel confident in conservatism in the United States. I find myself questioning why candidates whom I consider to be much more qualified and moderate are not beginning to pull away from the more extreme.
Republican front runner Ted Cruz speaks at a rally earlier this year. (Courtesy: Associate Press)
Jeb Bush and John Kasich are more moderate and more capable of working with Democrats in Congress than the other Republican candidates. Despite this, Bush and Kasich together garnered less than five percent of the total votes, according to the numbers published by the Associated Press. The one saving grace on the Republican side of things is how close Marco Rubio came in votes to overcoming Donald Trump. That being said, Marco Rubio has yet to convince me of his worth or his chances of winning over Clinton or Sanders.
The Democratic side of the Iowa caucus was not surprising to me in the least. Even though Hillary Clinton led in the polls before the caucus, she escaped Iowa by the narrowest of margins— three-tenths of a percent.
Martin O’Malley received no delegates and only three percent of total votes. O’Malley suspended his presidential campaign upon seeing the results. Iowa was an immense win for Bernie Sanders, who is currently leading in the New Hampshire polls by more than 30 points, according to the Huffington Post.
So what does this mean for the candidates going forward?
I think it’s still too early to really make a sound guess for the Republicans with so many candidates still in the race. If Trump can get a win in New Hampshire it may help him regain his momentum, but if Cruz can get a second win in a major area it may spell the end for many candidates. Unfortunately, I don’t know what is worse: Trump winning his first primary or Cruz winning his second.
Bernie Sanders gained the most of any candidate from either side in the Iowa caucus. He showed he is a viable candidate and may very well pull ahead of Clinton in the long run. However, one big question arises out of the Iowa caucus:
With whom will O’Malley and his supporters side? If I had to guess, I would bet that Clinton wins over O’Malley’s group, but with so few votes in Iowa, would it actually help her in the long run?
Dalton Capps is a senior history major from Goldwater, Mississippi.
