Hillary Clinton's campaign announced that she defeated Bernie Sanders by a narrow margin in the Iowa caucuses Monday night, according to results announced by the state Democratic Party early Tuesday morning. In the end of what was called "an historically close" vote, Clinton was awarded 699.57 state delegate equivalents, versus 695.49 for Sanders, Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire said in a statement. There is still one precinct untallied, worth 2.28 state delegates.
The race had remained a virtual tie throughout the night and well into the early morning hours, with the Associated Press refusing to make a call on the contest. With 99.9 percent of the precincts reporting, Clinton had 49.9 percent of the delegates and Sanders had 49.5 percent.
However, at 2:35 am, the Clinton campaign declared victory ahead of official word or a concession from Sanders. "Hillary Clinton has won the Iowa Caucus. After thorough reporting - and analysis - of results, there is no uncertainty and Secretary Clinton has clearly won the most national and state delegates. Statistically, there is no outstanding information that could change the results and now way that Senator Sanders can overcome Secretary Clinton's advantage," her campaign said in a statement, The Hill reported.
Earlier in the evening, Sanders made it clear that he wanted to win the evening, but saw a larger win symbolically, even if he lost the final tally.
"The people of Iowa have sent a very profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment and to the media establishment," the Vermont senator said during a campaign rally in Iowa, according to Vox. "And that is, given the enormous crises facing our country, it is just too late for establishment politics and establishment economics."
Clinton, in a speech to supporters at her campaign headquarters, pitched herself as a "progressive who gets things done."
"It is rare, it is rare that we have the opportunity we do now. To have a real contest of ideas, to really think hard about what the Democratic Party stands for and what we want the future of our country to look like if we do our part to build it," she said, according to Vocativ. "I am a progressive who gets things done for people. I am honored to stand in the long line of American reformers who make up our minds that the status quo is not good enough, that standing still is not an option and that brings people together to find ways to improve the lives of Americans."
The third Democratic candidate in the race, former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, suspended his campaign Monday night after barely registering support among caucus-goers.
On the Republican side, Ted Cruz won Iowa with 27.7 percent. Donald Trump came in second with 24.3 percent and Marco Rubio had a stronger-than-expected third place showing with 23.1 percent.
