Huckabee, Obama enjoy huge night in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have claimed
victories in Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

With all Democratic precincts reporting, Obama had the support of 38
percent of voters, compared to 30 percent for John Edwards and 29
percent for Hillary Clinton. "The numbers tell us this was a debate
between change and experience, and change won," said CNN political
analyst Bill Schneider.

Iowa delivered fatal blows to the campaigns of Sen. Chris Dodd of
Connecticut and Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. Both have decided to
abandon their White House runs.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who finished fourth, said his
campaign plans to "take the fight to New Hampshire."

New Hampshire holds the nation's first primary Tuesday. Clinton and
Obama are in a statistical dead heat in New Hampshire, according to
the latest CNN/WMUR poll.

On the GOP side, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose campaign was
languishing six months ago, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
are now tied for first place in New Hampshire, according to the poll,
which was released Wednesday.

McCain left Iowa before caucus night even began. He was already in New
Hampshire by Thursday afternoon, trying to get a jump on his rivals.
For the winners of both party's caucuses in Iowa, it's an age revolt
for Democrats versus a religious revolt for Republicans, Schneider
said.

Among Democrats, Obama took 57 percent of the under-30 vote, according
to CNN's analysis of entrance polls. Speaking to supporters, Obama
called the night a "defining moment in history."
"You came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents to stand
up and say that we are one nation, we are one people and our time for
change has come."

Huckabee's victory can be attributed to his overwhelming support among
evangelical voters and women, the polls indicate.

With 92 percent of Republican precincts reporting, Huckabee, former
governor of Arkansas, had the support of 34 percent of voters,
compared to 25 percent for Romney.

Fred Thompson had 13 percent, McCain had 13 percent and Ron Paul had
10 percent.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has turned the focus of his
campaign to the February 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries, trailed with 4
percent.

"We've paid a lot of attention to states that some other candidates
haven't paid a lot of attention to," Giuliani said, adding, "Time will
tell what the best strategy is."

Huckabee was vastly outspent by Romney, who poured millions of dollars
into a sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation.

"People really are more important than the purse, and what a great
lesson for America to learn," Huckabee said in thanking his
supporters.

For most of 2007, Huckabee languished in the single digits in the
polls and had very little success raising money. But his momentum
picked up in the final six weeks of the year when social conservatives
-- an important voting bloc in Iowa -- began to move his way.

"We won the silver ... You win the silver in one event. It doesn't
mean you're not going to come back and win the gold in the final
event, and that we are going to do," Romney said.

Clinton, speaking with 96 percent of the vote in, portrayed herself as
the candidate who could bring about the change the voters want. "I am
so ready for the rest of this campaign, and I am so ready to lead,"
she said.

Clinton had worked to convince Iowa caucus-goers she has the
experience to enact change, while Edwards and Obama preached that she
is too much of a Washington insider to bring change to the nation's
capital.

Edwards, in a tight race for second, said Iowa's results show that
"the status quo lost and change won."

"Now we move on ... to determine who is best suited to bring about the
changes this country so desperately needs," he said.

McCain, who had largely abandoned Iowa to focus on the New Hampshire
primary, said, "The lessons of tonight's election in Iowa are that
one, you can't buy an election in Iowa; and two, that negative
campaigns don't work."

With such a close race on both sides, voter turnout was key. The Iowa
Democratic Party reported seeing record turnout. The party said there
were at least 227,000 caucus attendees.
The Iowa GOP projected that 120,000 people took part in the Republican
caucuses. The Iowa Democratic Party said 124,000 people participated
in the 2004 caucuses, while the Republican Party of Iowa estimated
that 87,000 people took part in the 2000 caucuses. (President Bush ran
unchallenged for a second term in 2004.)

Caucus-goer Kathy Barger, inside a Democratic caucus site in Walnut,
Iowa, said the room she was in was packed to the brim with a line out
the door.

"I don't know how they are going to be able to fit everybody in the
room, much less count the votes," she said. "There are bodies in every
available space in the room."

The White House hopefuls campaigned down to the wire in Iowa,
determined to reach as many people as possible before the 1,781
caucuses that started at 7 p.m.

Iowa Democrats, unlike Republicans, use a more complicated system to
determine a candidate's viability. Republican caucus-goers are asked
for their support for a candidate only one time during the event.
Democrats are asked twice: an initial question of support, and a
second if their first-choice candidate does not reach a 15 percent
threshold to achieve viability.

Among Republican candidates, Thompson, a former senator from
Tennessee, and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California needed strong showings
in Iowa to keep their campaigns going, while Paul, a representative
from Texas, is likely to ride his surge of popularity through February
5 -- "Super Tuesday," when 24 states hold their primaries -- no matter
where he places in the early contests.

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