News January 2008

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Obama, Huckabee win Iowa caucuses

Former Illinois lawmaker U.S. Sen. Barack Obama already is in New Hampshire campaigning after having won Iowa's vote to be the Democratic candidate for president in 2008. For the GOP, it was a battle of former governors, but Iowa selected former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as Republican Party candidate.

In the first primary of the year on January 3, Obama secured 38 percent of the caucus delegate votes, according to the Chicago Tribune. That's 8 percentage points more than the second place candidate, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who just edged out U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.

Newspaper reports indicate Obama succeeded in pulling support from independent and youth voters, whom Obama said in his victory speech made history and disproved cynics. View Obama's speech here on his campaign Web site.

Iowa's GOP caucus goers selected Huckabee with 34 percent compared to the 25 percent collected by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Huckabee, a Baptist minister, secured support from religious conservative voters, according to the Tribune.

See Huckabee's morning-after appearances on his campaign Web site here.

Illinois Issues, January 4, 2008