Super close...

Clinton ekes out win in Iowa against Sanders

But Sanders has not yet conceded.

By Nick Gass

Hillary Clinton narrowly defeated Bernie Sanders in the Iowa caucuses, according to results announced by the state Democratic Party early Tuesday morning, a dramatic finish to a race so close that The Associated Press declined to call it even after every precinct except one had reported results.

Clinton was awarded 699.57 state delegate equivalents, versus 695.49 for Sanders, Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire said in a statement. The results were the closest in the history of the state Democratic caucuses, and 171,109 Democratic voters turned out to caucus.

With 99.9 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had 49.9 percent of delegates and Sanders had 49.6 percent, according to The Associated Press. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley received less than 1 percent, then suspended his campaign. A single precinct had yet to report as of 5 a.m. Eastern time; that precinct, in Des Moines, is worth 2.28 state delegate equivalents.

The AP said at 2 a.m. that it would not report a winner “at this time” because the race was so tight. It still hadn’t done so as of 9:30 a.m.

The outcome gave both sides room to claim victory: Clinton in the ever-so-narrow lead she clung to as results trickled in throughout the night, and Sanders in the massive comeback the self-described democratic socialist mounted in the state against a front-runner who months ago looked unbeatable.

Clinton zoomed to an early lead as early results were posted, but as the evening wore on the gap steadily narrowed to less than half a percentage point — “a virtual tie,” as Sanders put it.

Though Sanders had not conceded, Clinton’s campaign declared victory in a statement at 3:35 a.m. Eastern: “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.”

The delegate count includes delegates allocated during an election in addition to national party committee members and in the case of the Democratic Party, super delegates.

Hours earlier, Clinton, flanked by Bill and Chelsea Clinton at campaign headquarters before the race was called, told supporters she was “breathing a sigh of relief.”

“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. “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.”

At Sanders’ campaign headquarters, Clinton’s line about being a “progressive who gets things done” elicited a chorus of boos. “She’s a liar,” supporters chanted. Organizers turned off the TV showing her speech, drawing cheers.

Speaking from his campaign plane Tuesday morning, Sanders said he’s taking the race all the way to the convention.

“Tonight is a wonderful start-off to the national campaign,” he said. “As I’ve said many, many times, we’re taking this to the convention, and I think tonight shows the American people that this is a campaign that can win.”

Shortly after 11 p.m., the million-member liberal group Democracy for America had already declared victory for Sanders.

“Tonight’s results are a huge win for Bernie, a major upset for the front-runner, and a tremendously important victory for the millions of struggling working families in the battle against income inequality, structural racism and the moneyed interests who dominate our politics,” said executive director Charles Chamberlain, whose group endorsed Sanders in December.

Clinton was looking to avoid the spectacle of twin losses to kick off the nomination battle; she’s trailing far behind Sanders in New Hampshire ahead of the Feb. 9 primary. Her crushing third-place Iowa showing in 2008, behind Barack Obama and John Edwards, was the first sign she wasn't the inevitable Democratic nominee she’d been campaigning as.

This time, Clinton and her allies acknowledge the Democratic primary could drag on for months. Even a narrow victory in Iowa could provide a big morale and media boost, and deprive Sanders of the potent claim that he beat the front-runner in the two highest-profile early voting states.

While Clinton rallied her campaign backers for the big day Monday morning, Sanders told volunteers later in the day that they should take a close loss in stride.

“We got a tie ballgame,” he said, echoing past statements attempting to temper expectations. “[If Hillary] Clinton ends up with two delegates more of many, many hundred delegates, you tell me why that’s the end of the world.”

Clinton’s campaign told The Des Moines Registe’'s Jennifer Jacobs that on Monday alone it logged 2,000 volunteer shifts, and knocked on 51,000 doors. In the last four days, the campaign said it worked 11,000 volunteer shifts, knocking on 238,000 doors.

Quinnipiac’s poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers out Monday suggested an airtight contest between Clinton, who received 46 percent, and Sanders, who took 49 percent. O’Malley was at 3 percent.

Accusing the Sanders campaign of going “negative” and “personal” with its attacks, Clinton told “CBS This Morning” that any insinuations or accusations from the Vermont senator, particularly on her record with Wall Street, have no standing.

“Anybody who knows me knows I’m not in the pocket of anyone. And anyone who thinks they can influence me certainly doesn’t know me,” she said, before touting her Wall Street plan for the morning show audience.

The Sanders campaign bristled at the very suggestion that Sanders is running a negative campaign.

“Ridiculous. Negative? This man hasn’t run a negative ad in all of his political career,” former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, a Sanders supporter, told CNN. “There's nothing negative about pointing out the differences between you and your opponent.”

Clinton’s chief pollster, Joel Benenson, responded later in the day, remarking that if the Sanders team truly believes it’s not running a negative campaign, “they should ask their supporters and social media to kind of turn it down, because [of] some of the vitriolic things they were saying about anybody who disagrees with them.”

The Sanders campaign, meanwhile, focused on setting itself up for a large turnout, particularly of young, first-time caucus-goers, especially in college towns like Iowa City and Ames.

“We have come a long way in Iowa over the last nine months,” Sanders told his Twitter followers in a 29-second video posted as a tweet in the afternoon. “When we began, we were 40, 50 points behind. Right now, it’s virtually a tie. In my view, we will win tonight if the turnout is high. We will struggle if the turnout is low. Please, please, please come out to caucus tonight. Bring your friends, bring your family, and if you do that, we’re gonna have a great night.”