Republican Mike Huckabee & Democrat Barack Obama enjoy caucus victories in Iowa

The Iowa Caucus Winners:


Mr. Obama, 46, a first-term senator trying to become the nation’s first African-American president, carried his message of change directed at young and independent voters and it seemed to pay off in Iowa. Mr. Huckabee, 53, said in response to his win, "I think staying positive in Iowa, not doing the political dumpster-diving that some of the other candidates did, I believe it paid off."

“My throat’s a little sore, but my spirits are high because last night the American people began down the road to change and four days from now, New Hampshire, you have the chance to change America,” Barack Obama told supporters at a morning rally, according to The Associated Press.

A record number of Democrats turned out in Iowa last night — more than 239,000, compared with fewer than 125,0000 in 2004 — a strong possible indication that opposition to President Bush has energized Democrats more than previously estimated.

On the Republican side, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee handily defeated his rivals after riding a wave of support from evangelical Christians. Here, the preacher-turned-politician arrives at a victory party with his wife, Janet Huckabee, in Des Moines.

She may have come in third in Iowa, but Hillary Clinton still leads the race for delegates. What did she have to say about her third place ranking? Well, she told Reuters, “We can’t have false hopes, we’ve got to have a person who can walk into that Oval office on day one and start doing the hard work that it takes to deliver change.”

The winners of Iowa didn't have too much time to bask in their victories, they are off to New Hampshire to start over again and gain as much support as possible. Hillary already has her plans set for this weekend, her campaign has set the goal of knocking on more than 100,000 doors, building on below-the-radar efforts beforehand. A vast voter outreach effort has included some 1.4 million calls and 200 staff on the ground. Hey, Hillary can always rely a bit on her husband to boost popularity in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire's primary is Tuesday, only five days after Iowa, in an unprecedented compression of the campaign calendar.

Two candidates dropped out of the Presidential race last night — Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware. Ouch. Well, you can catch the rest of the candidates in a debate on Saturday night on ABC and be sure to pay attention to the New Hampshire primary results next week.