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Cruz wins; Democrats close Clinton, Sanders race too close to call Monday night

Ted Cruz wins Iowa; Trump in second despite long lead

By ISD Politics Team

The Democratic Caucus between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders was too close to call Monday night — although Clinton had a slim lead — as both candidates addressed supporters before major news networks would make projections. As of press time at midnight Tuesday, Clinton had 683 delegates to Sanders’ 680 with 98 percent reporting. “It certainly indicates this race is very close,” said Mack Shelley, university professor of political science. “We sort of knew that going in. It does indicate that the Clinton campaign has a harder time spinning this.” The Clinton campaign declared “victory” when talking to reporters before Clinton’s speech. “I think given that Hillary Clinton was seen not that long ago that almost guaranteed to win the nomination easily, I don’t think that the claim that it’s a victory is going to sit very well.” Shelley said Clinton will have to prove herself in New Hampshire, where she is currently running behind Sanders in the polls. “Sanders can claim to have the momentum in the sense that he fought what at one point was an inevitable nominee for the party,” Shelley said. “Neither of them can claim a clear victory. Sanders can claim momentum; Clinton can claim she won by a whisker.” Throughout the state, several dozen precincts were not reporting results, which could prove pivotal with the close results. Both the Republican and Democratic parties were using a new app designed by Microsoft to expedite the reporting process. In Story County, Sanders overwhelmingly won the college vote. Sanders won every precinct that included mostly college students. O’Malley, who decided to suspend his campaign, picked up 8 delegates — within the margin of votes between Clinton and Sanders. The Des Moines Register/ Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll released this past weekend showed

Ted Cruz made it look easy Monday night, beating Donald Trump — who dominated the news and led almost every poll since summer — by almost 5,000 votes. Cruz took the victory with 27.67 percent — more than 50,000 votes. Fellow presidential hopeful Donald Trump took second place in the race with 24.3 percent, while U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, RFla., was third with 23.1 percent overall. News organizations called the race for Republicans shortly before 9:30 p.m. Cruz spoke to a crowd after the announcement in the Elwell Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, stating that Monday “was a victory” not only for conservatives in Iowa, but across the nation. With 48,608 voters who chose Cruz, the candidate stated, and that Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nomination “will not be chosen” by the media, the “Washington establishment,” or the lobbyists, “but will be chosen by the utmost powerful force where sovereignty resides in this nation, by we the people.” Cruz credited his victory to his supporters and volunteers for his campaign, citing 120,000 volunteers in Iowa and more than 200,000 across the country, as well as “an average contribution of $67 dollars, that is the power of the grassroots.” “From day one, this campaign has been a movement for millions of Americans across this country to organize, to rally, to come together,” Cruz said. “Whatever Washington says they cannot keep the people down.” Cruz also thanked his family for their support, especially his father, a Cuban immigrant who came to the United States “who has lived the dream.” The senator from Texas went on to talk about his plans for the presidency if he would be elected, which include repealing Obamacare and securing borders. He also stated he was the candidate

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Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Ashley Green/Iowa State Daily

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Katy Klopfenstein/Iowa State Daily

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

Charlie Coffey/Iowa State Daily

People gather outside of St. John’s Episcopal Church on Lincoln Way Monday night for the Iowa Caucuses.

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First-time caucusgoers set record turnout Students pack caucus locations at Iowa State By ISD Politics Team First-time caucusgoers in Ames filed into voting locations in droves, so much so that one caucus location in Ames had to move people outside. The Republican caucus at St. John’s Episcopal Church in the Ames 4-1 precinct, which included most of the residents of Campustown, was expected to have only about 150 voters. A total of 524

voters cast their vote. Hundreds of voters were forced to move outside because of overcrowding, filling the parking lot behind the church. Students had different reasons for getting involved in the first caucus they were of age to vote in. “This is my first time caucusing,” said Quinn Jamrok, sophomore in mathematics. “I’m here because I don’t like how the country is run. I’m here to vote for a change, which is why I’m caucusing for Donald Trump. I like how he wants to run the economy, because then companies can grow and create new jobs.” Statewide, Republican turnout was pushing 180,000, which is a significant increase from 2012,

when just over 121,000 turned out. “That’s like 50 percent more than [the 2012 Republican caucus] mark,” said Mack Shelley, university professor of political science. “That way exceeds what the Republicans have seen before.” Shelley attended a Democratic caucus in east Ames, where he said Sanders easily had the most supporters. Just over 300 turned out at his caucus, which was more than he said turned out at the last Democratic caucus there in 2008. Voters also had specific reasons for voting for the candidate of their choice, such as Kay Owen, an Ames resident who voted for Donald Trump at St. John’s. Owen said she has participated in the caucuses several times and does

so because she said it is important to have a voice in the government. Owen said she voted for Trump because she likes that he is “not afraid to say what he thinks.” Though Ted Cruz won the Republican caucuses in Iowa, Marco Rubio came in first with 321 votes for caucusgoers at St. John’s. Rand Paul and Donald Trump tied for second at that location with 54 votes. “This is my first time at the caucus,” said Taylor Rice, junior in agricultural business. “I wanted to participate because I have been taking political science classes, and I’ve also had family that is very involved in politics and I wanted to see what it is like. I’m caucusing for Marco Rubio because he

is the candidate that can connect the best with Americans. He didn’t get raised with money and had to work his way up to the top like most Americans today.” Students had various reasons for voting for Rubio, but one thing remained the same: Ames residents and students alike wanted to get involved in their first caucuses. Caucus sites at the Memorial Union, Scheman Building, Ames Middle School and Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center in Ames also had high turnout, according to Daily reporters and caucus attendees. Iowa State’s Memorial Union, which housed several precinct’s

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Second candidate interviews for VP for Student Affairs Al S. Thompson, Jr. wants students to be more than numbers By Rakiah.Bonjour @iowastatedaily.com

Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Al S. Thompson, Jr. is one of three candidates in the running for the vice president for Student Affairs position at Iowa State.

Al S. Thompson, Jr., vice chancellor for Student Affairs and chief diversity officer at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, talked about his goals and ideals at an open forum on campus for the senior vice president for Student Affairs position. Thompson, who is the second of three candidates interviewing to replace retiring Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Hill, is a graduate of the University of Iowa and St. Mary’s University. He hosted the open forum at 9 a.m. Monday in the Memorial

Union. Thompson said his experience at Iowa led him to get involved in higher education. “I would have been troubled if I walked across the University of Iowa’s stage and didn’t care for the university,” Thompson said. “I want the same experience for our students. I want them to walk across the stage and feel valued, loved and that this is their alma mater, this is their place, this is their home.” Thompson’s ultimate goal is to see students not only graduate but graduate happily and be readily able to give back to their community. “I want students to be able to give back, not just to this campus but Ames, the state of Iowa and the United States of America,” he said. Apart from giving back and watching students succeed, Thompson is focused on developing students at a level they are able

to transform and succeed. “My vision is to engage students along their transformational journey to develop selfconfidence, a sense of purpose, resiliency and active citizenship,” Thompson said. “Key words are that transformational journey, think about it ... they don’t leave the same way they came. ... Getting a degree is critical … but they have to have a purpose of what they’re going to do once they have that.” Thompson said he would help students transform by making more opportunities such as internships, mental health support, résumé builders and study abroad options readily available to students. He also plans to keep Iowa State’s student experience intact. “The pride of your campus is being student-centered,” he said. “Being student-centered is not just a buzzword at Iowa

State, there’s a reality to how you operate. You pride yourself as a campus that does not want students to become a number ... every student has value, every student has a place, to the point of being an individual versus being a group or a number.” One of Thompson’s biggest issue he has worked to solve at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and hopes to continue to change at Iowa State is the problem with diversity. He said there must be a sense of trust among students, and the ability to have honest discussions allows an understanding of the problems he faces. “We cannot put our heads in the sand and hope it goes away in the sense of activism,” he said. “There must be ... discussions at the forefront to allow us to come to an understanding of where we

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