Hillary Clinton claims victory, Bernie Sanders lauds ‘virtual tie’ in Iowa

Hillary Clinton claimed a victory in the Iowa caucuses Monday night, but so did Sen. Bernard Sanders, who outperformed expectations and reset the Democratic presidential primary, putting a serious dent in Mrs. Clinton’s aura of inevitability. Mrs. Clinton held a slim lead of 49.8 percent of delegates awarded to Mr. Sanders‘ 49.6 percent, with 94 percent of Iowa precincts reporting as of midnight East Coast time. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley came in a distant third with less than 1 percent of delegates, and announced he was suspending his campaign on the heels of a dismal showing. For Mrs. Clinton, the close result renewed some of the sting of 2008, when she lost the state to then-Sen. Barack Obama, and went on to lose the nomination to him in a race that lasted through June.