Iowa Republican Caucus Selects Huckabee
Mike Huckabee was Iowa's choice among Republican presidential hopefuls. But Mitt Romney isn't settling for second place. He says he plans to come back to Iowa in the general election as the Republican nominee. The next challenge for the candidates is New Hampshire's primaries on Tuesday.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Iowa Republicans also picked a relative newcomer to the national stage - former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. He beat former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by a comfortable nine points. Evangelical Christians made a lot of the difference for Huckabee, who was a Southern Baptist minister before he turned to politics.
And we have more this morning from NPR's Ina Jaffe.
INA JAFFE: About 60 percent of Republican caucus goers last night were evangelical Christians. They overwhelmingly supported Mike Huckabee, and a few earlier rivals at his victory party last night decided to support him in another way.
Ms. REBECCA SWEETHOOD(ph) (Mike Huckabee Campaign Volunteer): We pray that you would lift Mike Huckabee upward as…
JAFFE: Rebecca Sweethood, a volunteer who had traveled from Arkansas, led a small prayer circle.
Ms. SWEETHOOD: Lord, we pray that he would not be ashamed to be known as the pastor. And that is exactly what a leader of a nation should be, Lord. One who is a shepherd over sheep, God; one who seeks the light…
JAFFE: But when Huckabee addressed his jubilant supporters, his talk was mostly about transcendence of a different kind.
Mr. MIKE HUCKABEE (Former Republican Governor, Arkansas; Presidential Candidate): Tonight, what we have seen is a new day in American politics. A new day is needed in American politics, just like a new day is needed in American government. And tonight, it starts here in Iowa, but it doesn't end here.
Unidentified Man: Yeah.
Mr. HUCKABEE: It goes all the way through the other states and ends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue one year from now.
(Soundbite of cheering crowd)
JAFFE: Huckabee was vastly outspent by Mitt Romney who poured about $17 million of his own fortune into his campaign. Huckabee also withstood millions of dollars of negative ads backed by a Washington-based anti-tax group. But these caucuses said Huckabee proved that people are more important than the purse. Iowans, he said, want change. They want a leader who can bring Americans together. But that doesn't mean, he said, that we will compromise our deep convictions.
Mr. HUCKABEE: We carry those convictions not so that we can somehow push back the others, but so we can bring along the others and bring this country to its greatest days ever because I'm still one who believes that the greatest generation doesn't have to be the ones behind us. The greatest generation can be those who have yet to even be born. And that's what we're going to save.
(Soundbite of cheering crowd)
JAFFE: As he moves on to New Hampshire, Huckabee is aware that many voters there do not share his deep convictions. He's been running third or fourth in the polls, while Mitt Romney and John McCain vie for first.
But Chip Saltsman, the national chair of Huckabee's campaign, said voters in New Hampshire and around the country will soon see another side of the candidate.
Mr. CHIP SALTSMAN (National Chair, Mike Huckabee's Campaign): I think we've got a lot of support with the fiscal conservatives out there, and I hope that we'll get a chance to talk about our economic record in Arkansas where with 10 and a half years, he's had more executive experience than anybody else who's running for president, Republican or Democrat.
JAFFE: Part of Mitt Romney's executive experience was his leadership of the 2002 Olympics, which last night gave him a way to cast his defeat in the best light possible.
Mr. MITT ROMNEY (Former Republican Governor, Massachusetts; Presidential Candidate): Well, we won the silver.
(Soundbite of cheering crowd)
JAFFE: Even without the gold, Romney was still campaigning. He said Americans were frustrated that the system in Washington was broken.
Mr. ROMNEY: How come Washington can't help us become energy-independent? How come Washington can't get health insurance for all of our citizens without making it Hillary care or socialized medicine? Washington is broken and we're going to change that.
(Soundbite of cheering crowd)
JAFFE: And Romney did come in ahead of John McCain and Fred Thompson, who just about tied for a distant third place. But after Romney's defeat, John McCain was sounding like he had little to fear from him at a press conference last night in New Hampshire.
Senator JOHN McCAIN (Republican, Arizona; Presidential Candidate): We can feel the momentum that the same kind of momentum we felt in 2000. I'm very confident with a strong positive finish here that we're going to win here in New Hampshire and go on to Michigan and South Carolina.
(Soundbite of cheering crowd)
JAFFE: Finishing in a distant sixth place last night was former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, once seen as the national front-runner. Then again, Iowa never played a role in his strategy. And last night, his campaign released a statement, saying that they still believe their path to the nomination runs through the many delegate-rich states that don't vote until February 5th.
Ina Jaffe, NPR News, Des Moines.
INSKEEP: You can get a look at upcoming primaries by going to this map at I'm looking at here at npr.org. Move the cursor across the map of the United States; learn about the upcoming states, dates and what's at stake. You can find it at npr.org/elections.
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Obama, Huckabee Triumph in Iowa
NPR Special Report on the Iowa Caucuses (Hour 1)
NPR Special Report on the Iowa Caucuses (Hour 2)
Caucus Results
With his wife, Ann, by his side, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney waves to supporters after speaking at his after-caucus party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday. Romney placed second in the caucuses, finishing behind Mike Huckabee. LM Otero/Getty Images hide caption
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has won the GOP Iowa caucuses, while Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won on the Democratic side. Both victories represent the triumph of insurgent candidates over their more established rivals.
Huckabee, an ordained Baptist preacher, rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to victory Thursday night, while Obama's message of change resonated with many Democrats.
It's a remarkable win for Huckabee, who was little more than an asterisk in the race for the Republican nomination just a few months ago. The question is whether he can prevail outside friendly Iowa territory, and go the distance to the nomination.
Obama, meanwhile, broke out of a neck-and-neck contest with his main Democratic rivals, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Yet Obama, who campaigned as an apostle of change in Washington, was gaining 38 percent support among Democrats. Edwards, who ran promising to battle the special interests in the capital, drew about 30 percent, while Clinton, who stressed her experience, came in at about 29 percent.
Obama, speaking to his supporters, called his victory in Iowa a "defining moment in history."
"Our time for change has come," he said to thunderous applause. "We are choosing hope over fear; we are choosing unity over division and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America."
Both Obama and Huckabee can expect a windfall in terms of media attention and campaign donations, thanks to their victories in Iowa.
The Faith Factor
For many Republican caucus participants, faith was a determining factor. More than eight in 10 Huckabee supporters said they are born-again or evangelical Christians, compared with less than half of those who supported his rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Nearly two-thirds of Huckabee backers also said it was very important that their candidate share their religious beliefs, compared with about one in five of Romney's.
"I never thought I could love a state more than my home state of Arkansas, but tonight I love Iowa a whole lot," Huckabee told a crowd of cheering supporters.
If the mood was one of elation at Huckabee's headquarters, things were certainly more somber at the headquarters for Romney, who spent a great deal of time and a huge amount of money in Iowa — including about $17 million of his own money.
Romney, who finished second in Iowa, now turns his attention to New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Jan. 8. There, his campaign will be appealing to much more fiscally conservative voters, rather than the social conservatives who dominated the GOP Iowa caucuses. Evangelical conservatives are thought to account for at least one-third — and perhaps as much as 40 percent — of all Republican caucus-goers in Iowa.
Strong Turnout Among Democrats
Preliminary results from an Associated Press survey of Iowa voters shed some light on the Obama victory. About half of Democrats said their candidate's ability to bring about needed change was the most important factor in making their decision, and change was Obama's calling card during the campaign. About one-fifth of Democrats said experience — Clinton's mantra — was most important.
On the Democratic side, a record 236,000 people participated in the caucuses, with many first-time caucus-goers and independents showing up. In 2004, 124,000 Democrats attended the caucuses. Attendance was lower among Republicans, with roughly 116,000 caucus participants.
Edwards came in second, earning 30 percent to Obama's 38 percent, similar to his performance in the 2004 Iowa caucuses. Then, he won 32 percent of the vote, second to Sen. John Kerry's 38 percent. Edwards has been campaigning in Iowa heavily since his vice presidential campaign ended four years ago.
Speaking after the polls closed, Edwards continued to hammer out his populist message, "The one thing that is clear is that the status quo lost, and change won," he said before repeating a familiar refrain — deriding corporate greed in America.
Speaking to her supporters, Clinton put on a brave face on what was clearly a disappointing finish. "I am so ready for the rest of this campaign," Clinton said to thunderous chants of "Hillary, Hillary, Hillary." She repeated a vow that, if elected, she would end the war in Iraq.
Biden, Dodd Drop Out
The Iowa caucuses typically involve a small number of caucus-goers — in 2000, the last time both parties held caucuses, about 145,000 people turned out. This year, more than 220,000 Democrats and 116,000 Republicans participated.
The Iowa contests are considered a crucial step on the road to the White House and are all about momentum.
The results in Iowa, along with those in the New Hampshire primary five days later, will help winnow down the number of candidates. Already, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden are abandoning their campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination after poor showings in the Iowa caucuses.
Defeat in Iowa or New Hampshire, though, does not necessarily spell the end of a candidacy. In 1988, for example, Democrat Michael Dukakis lost in Iowa, and in 2000, George W. Bush failed to win New Hampshire's Republican primary.
Looking Beyond Iowa
"Don't count Clinton and Edwards out yet," said Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. "I still think you're looking at a three-way race."
Both Clinton and Romney have the financial resources to weather the many primaries that lie ahead. Obama, too, has deep pockets, thanks to tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions. Edwards, however, has much shallower pockets, and he is relying on matching public funds to finance his campaign.
Not all contenders were focused on Iowa.
Republican Rudolph Giuliani, who did not contest in Iowa but who has been leading nationally, was in Florida on Thursday, making a bid for that state's nomination when it holds its primary Jan. 29. The former New York City mayor is still considered a contender in future primaries.
Meanwhile, Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain has focused much of his efforts on New Hampshire, which he won in 2000, defeating then-Gov. George W. Bush by 16 points. In a sense, Huckabee's Iowa triumph is a boon for McCain because it weakens Romney, McCain's main rival in the Granite State.