(Reuters) — New Yorkers in Times Square on Tuesday (February 2) had mixed hopes for who they’d like to see as president, but few were surprised by the outcome of the Iowa caucus.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz beat billionaire Donald Trump in Iowa on Monday (February 1) while on the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won by a razor-thin margin against U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history in the first presidential nominating contests of the 2016 White House race.
“I expected it to be close, because I am a Hillary Clinton supporter so, but I expected it to be close,” said Clinton supporter Gina DeSalva.
“I expected that (the close vote in the Democratic race), because Hillary Clinton, I felt that she is not trustworthy. And so it showed with Bernie Sanders,” said Robin Sherman, who added that she is a Republican and would support any of the top Republican candidates.
Cruz, a conservative lawmaker from Texas, won with 28 percent of the vote compared to 24 percent for businessman Trump in the Republican contest. Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, came in third with 23 percent, easily making him the leader among establishment Republican candidates.
Cruz’s win and Rubio’s strong showing could dent the momentum for Trump, whose candidacy has alarmed the Republican establishment and been marked by controversies such as his calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.
Trump’s second place showing received mixed reaction in Times Square. Some were not surprised he didn’t come in first.
“From what I know, looking at poll data, I think it’s hard to know what, who is actually supporting Trump,” said New Yorker Rainer Romer.
“I think he is a lot of talk, but not a lot of – his people won’t just come out I don’t think. He is a lot of talk, but that’s about it,” added DeSalva.
New Yorker Sandeep, a Trump supporter, still thinks ‘The Donald’ will come out on top.
“His honesty is, he says he is not politically, he doesn’t care about political correctness. I think he will win.”
Buoyed by evangelical voters, Cruz thanked God in his victory speech. He said the results showed that the nominee would not be chosen by the media, the Washington establishment or lobbyists.
Trump, 69, congratulated Cruz and said he still expected to win the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 election.
Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, who had trouble gaining any traction in the Democratic race, suspended his campaign. He took third place with less than one percent.
The results could shift momentum in both races. Clinton hoped for a strong finish against Sanders to vanquish his insurgent candidacy. Sanders is leading in opinion polls in New Hampshire.
Rubio’s third-place finish established him as the Republican mainstream alternative to Trump and Cruz.