Cruz Surges to Victory, Takes Iowa Ahead of Trump

Sen. Ted Cruz has won the Iowa caucuses, defeating Donald Trump by four points with 91 percent of precincts reporting.

The Texas senator had gained on Trump in recent polling in the Hawkeye State, but continued to trail him in public polls, before garnering a victory Monday night. The crowd awaiting Cruz's victory speech at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines was going wild after CNN called the race, yelling: "We want Ted!"

A fired-up Cruz took the stage just before 11:30pm, telling the crowd that he "leap[s] out of bed every morning" excited about the race and the opportunity the country has to elect a new leader and change the direction of the country. "We are inspired by each and every one of you," Cruz said.

But just minutes into his victory speech, Hillary Clinton — whose race ended too close to call against Bernie Sanders in Iowa — took the stage at her own rally and television networks cut away from the end of Cruz's speech in order to show her.

Inside the room, Cruz held a strong command of his audience, who seemed to be eating from his hands as he spoke.

Leslee Sheffield, a fifty-year old from Clive, IA, and her daughters Sydney, 18, and Eliza, 13, were among those in the crowd. The Sheffields headed to Cruz headquarters after hitting the caucuses this evening.

It was Leslee's third caucus, and the first for Sydney. Four candidates — including Donald Trump — showed up at their caucus location in person earlier in the evening, where Rubio was ultimately victorious.

Seeing Cruz win tonight was "pleasantly surprising," Leslee said, though they were not upset to see Rubio's strong showing.

Compared to years past this year's caucus was both more divided and more exciting, Leslee said. "Probably due to Donald Trump," she speculated.

The Sheffields said they support Cruz because they believe he "won't compromise his principles" in Washington, DC.

Gabriel Goorsky and Justin Carrizzales — both 19-year-old students from Creighton University — drove to Des Moines tonight and attended the Cruz rally because they are big political fans and "wanted to see a win."

The pair are open to any conservative candidate winning the Republican nomination, they said, but are especially fans of Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio.

Trump does not have their support, however, as he "is not a conservative," they said. Carrizzales was encouraged by Rubio's strong showing in Iowa tonight, he placed in third just one point behind Trump, as it proves, he said, that "[Republicans] can take down Trump"

"Looking around the room and seeing the diverse crowd with lots of women and minorities," said Goorsky, "is a win for conservatives, Republicans, and Ted Cruz."

Trump conceded Cruz's victory in a brief but gracious speech to supporters just before 11pm on Monday. "I'm just honored, I'm really honored. And I want to congratulate Ted and I want to congratulate all the incredible candidates," Trump said.

Trump sought to recast his loss in his concession speech Monday, telling supporters that "everybody" told him early in the race that he wouldn't even finish in the top 10 if he tried to compete in Iowa. "We finished second and I want to tell you something, I'm just honored. I'm really honored," he said.

He told the crowd he loved Iowa so much he just might "come back and buy a farm here," to wild cheers of "Trump! Trump! Trump!"

"We will go on to get the Republican nomination," Trump told supporters, saying several times, "On to New Hampshire!", before stepping off the stage.

Leanne Bund and her daughter Emma were sitting outside the main room Monday night wearing Make America Great Again shirts. Emma, who is 19, is a first-time caucus-goer gave the speech at her precinct of 900 people. "She did an unbelievable job!" Leanne told VICE News. Emma blushed.

"Of course, we wish there was a different outcome for sure," said Leanne, adding that she would have a "hard time" voting for Cruz if he became the Republican nominee. "I question his honesty, his integrity," she said.