The 2016 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on February 1 in the U.S. state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, traditionally marking the Republican Party's first nominating contest in their series of

presidential primaries The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States presidential elections. The United S ...

ahead of the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

. The Democratic Party held its own

Iowa caucuses The Iowa caucuses are biennial electoral events for members of the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections in most other U.S. states, where registered voters go to polling places to cast ballot ...

on the same day.

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

was able to defeat

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in the Iowa Caucus by winning over

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

caucus-goers; Cruz won 51,666 caucus votes or 27.6%, giving him a net gain of one delegate over Trump. Cruz visited all 99

counties of Iowa There are 99 counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The first two counties, Des Moines County and Dubuque County, were created in 1834 when Iowa was still part of the Michigan Territory. In preparation for Michigan's statehood, part of Michigan Terr ...

and held small events. Cruz outperformed his polling average, which predicted a narrow Trump victory in the caucus. Following poor performances in the caucuses, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee and

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third ...

suspended their campaigns.

Procedure

According to the Republican Party of Iowa's bylaws, if more than one candidate is nominated at the Republican National Convention, all of Iowa's delegates are bound to vote "proportionally in accordance with the outcome of the Iowa Caucuses" on the first ballot, even if the candidate has withdrawn from the race. The ballot is a blank piece of paper, and the candidates that voters may vote for in the non-binding preference poll included the following: *

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

Ben Carson Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgeon and politician who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. A pioneer in the field of neurosurgery, he ...

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

Carly Fiorina Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (''née'' Sneed; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP). As chief executive officer of HP from 1999 to 2005, Fiorina was ...

* Jim Gilmore *

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

* Marco Rubio *

* Rand Paul *

* Mike Huckabee

Forums and debates

November 20, 2015 – Des Moines, Iowa The Presidential Family Forum was held in the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and

attended the forum hosted by evangelical Christian advocacy group

The Family Leader The Family Leader (stylized The FAMiLY LEADER) is an American socially conservative umbrella group comprising The Family Leader Foundation, Marriage Matters, Iowa Family PAC, and Iowans for Freedom. The Family Leader is loosely affiliated with the ...

. It was hosted by politician and political activist

Bob Vander Plaats Robert Lee Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and political activist. Since 2010, he has been the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a social conservative organization in Iowa. Active in Republican Party politi ...

and moderated by political consultant and pollster

Frank Luntz Frank Ian Luntz (born February 23, 1962) is an American political and communications consultant and pollster, best known for developing talking points and other messaging for Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messagin ...

. Protesters interrupted the beginning of the event and were removed by police. January 28, 2016 – Des Moines, Iowa The seventh debate was the second debate to air on Fox News. As in Fox's first debate, the moderators were Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, and

Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 50-year care ...

. This was the last debate before actual voting began with the

on February 1, 2016. Due to personality conflicts with Fox News, Donald Trump opted out of the debate.

Endorsements

Source:

Polling

Aggregate polls

Results

Controversy

Ben Carson accused Ted Cruz's campaign of winning the caucuses using dishonest tactics, such as falsely telling caucus-goers that Carson had dropped out in order to get them to switch their votes to Cruz. Donald Trump also accused Cruz of "stealing" the Iowa caucuses through fraud.

Exit Polls

References

External links

RNC 2016 Republican Nominating Process

Green papers for 2016 primaries, caucuses, and conventions

Decision Desk Headquarter Results for Iowa
{{2016 Republican Primaries

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Republican caucuses February 2016 events in the United States