Obama and Huckabee lead in Iowa Caucuses

Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses held on January 3, 2008. From amongst the Democrats, Barack Obama was in the lead with 38 percent votes. John Edwards followed with 30, while Hillary Clinton, with 29 percent votes, came third. Obama won 16 delegates, while Clinton won 15 and Edwards, 14.

After his win, Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, attributed his victory to the people's desire for change, saying, "…big cities and small towns, you came together to say, 'We are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come.'"

Clinton and Edwards are both determined to compete for the Democratic nomination. Edwards, in an interview with The Associated Press, indicated that he would counter competition from Obama by projecting himself as the candidate who would ensure change. "I'm going to fight for that change", he said, "I've fought for it my entire life. I have a long history of fighting powerful interests and winning." Clinton also said that she was "ready for the rest of this campaign, and I am so ready to lead". Meanwhile, Democrats Joe Biden and Chris Dodd decided to opt out of the race.

Mike Huckabee won from the Republicans with 34 percent votes. Mitt Romney followed with 25 percent, and Fred Thompson and John McCain both won 13 percent votes. While Huckabee won 30 delegates, Romney got seven.

A victorious Huckabee, told supporters, "A new day is needed in American politics, just like a new day is needed in American government… It starts here, but it doesn't end here. It goes all the way through the other states and ends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

Huckabee, a former preacher, included religion as a major factor in his campaign. In a commercial, he projected himself as a "Christian leader". Recently he had decided against running a negative campaign against Romney, whose Mormon faith has been a topic of debate amongst voters. Romney however, expressed optimism, saying he had improved his position from few weeks ago, when he was behind Huckabee by over 20 points. "I've been pleased that I've been able to make up ground and I intend to keep making up ground, not just here but across the country," he said.

While Thompson and McCain tied at third place, Ron Paul followed fifth, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani came sixth.