Clinton White House dream lives despite narrow Iowa win

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a "get out the vote" event at Winnacunnet High School on February 2, 2016 in Hampton, New Hampshire. Hillary Clinton’s narrow win over Bernie Sanders puts her on course to clinch the Democratic nomination even if it is more of an uphill battle than she once hoped. PHOTO | JUSTIN SULLIVAN |

What you need to know:

  • The former secretary of state took 49.8 per cent of the vote compared to 49.6 per cent for Mr Sanders, allowing her to breathe “a big sigh of relief” in the Midwest heartland that ditched her for Barack Obama eight years ago.
  • Mr Sanders, who just months ago posed no threat as a fringe firebrand, declared a moral victory for his brand of progressive politics, brimming with confidence as polls give him a double-digit lead for next week’s primary in New Hampshire.
  • The 74-year-old senator from Vermont has inspired a passionate following among young voters with his Scandinavian-inspired anti-Wall Street, poverty busting, democratic socialist agenda.

NEW YORK, Wednesday

It may be the narrowest victory in Iowa history, but Hillary Clinton’s win over Bernie Sanders puts her on course to clinch the Democratic nomination even if it’s more of an uphill battle than she once hoped.

The former secretary of state took 49.8 per cent of the vote compared to 49.6 per cent for Mr Sanders, allowing her to breathe “a big sigh of relief” in the Midwest heartland that ditched her for Barack Obama eight years ago.

“Make no mistake we are in a fight to the finish,” she told voters in New Hampshire as the Republican field edged into a three-horse race between evangelical Ted Cruz, billionaire Donald Trump and telegenic Marco Rubio.

NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

Mr Sanders, who just months ago posed no threat as a fringe firebrand, declared a moral victory for his brand of progressive politics, brimming with confidence as polls give him a double-digit lead for next week’s primary in New Hampshire.

“For Clinton, it was clearly a case of surviving and advancing,” said Dante Scala, associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, which hosts the next Democratic debate on Thursday.

“That narrow win - it’s tough to take. I’m sure it’s a sigh of relief because I think a loss would have gone a long way to changing the conventional wisdom about Sanders’s ability to win the nomination.”

The 74-year-old senator from Vermont has inspired a passionate following among young voters with his Scandinavian-inspired anti-Wall Street, poverty busting, democratic socialist agenda.

His surge of support may have taken the establishment by surprise, but in Iowa he failed to match what Barack Obama achieved in 2008, when he shocked Clinton by snatching 37.6 per cent of the vote to her 29.5 per cent.

“He’s clearly someone to contend with, however I don’t think he managed, though he came awfully close, to shock the national political media with the results and it was in a state where Clinton did lose eight years ago,” said Scala.

REPUBLICAN BATTLE

Meanwhile, Mr Rubio hit the ground running on Wednesday, eager to capitalise on his strong Iowa showing and convince US voters he is the singular Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton in November.

The charismatic senator from Florida did not win Monday night’s Iowa caucuses but he definitely exceeded expectations.

Arch-conservative senator Ted Cruz came in first, while Mr Rubio finished a strong third, just a percentage point behind Donald Trump.

Barely after midnight, Rubio was on the ground in New Hampshire, preparing for a manic one-week sprint to the state’s primary on February 9 and declaring himself capable of uniting the fractious Republican Party.