Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won the first-in-the-nation Iowa Republican caucuses Monday night, defeating real estate mogul Donald Trump by 4 percentage points.
Cruz, who lagged behind Trump in the polls in the days leading up to the caucus, ended up taking 28 percent of the vote with 99 percent of the precincts reporting in, while Trump followed with 24 percent, reported The Hill. Cruz garnered a record-setting 46,407 votes, a huge symbolic victory over Trump, who has constantly touted his ability to win on the campaign trail.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finished third with 23 percent, a much stronger performance than expected, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who said a third-place victory was necessary to remain viable, came in fourth with 9 percent. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul took fifth place with 4.5 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush followed with 2.8 percent, Ohio Gov. John Kasich got 1.9 percent, businesswoman Carly Fiorina 1.9 percent, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee 1.8 percent, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie 1.7 percent and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum 1 percent.
More than 180,000 people are estimated to have turned out for the caucuses, beating the previous record of 121,354 set in 2012, according to ABC News.
Shortly after the results were in, Huckabee, who won Iowa in 2008, announced via Twitter that he is "officially suspending his campaign," reported The Week.
On the Democratic side, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley also announced that he is suspending his campaign, after garnering about 1 percent.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders were practically tied - 49.8 percent to 49.5 percent - with 92 percent of precincts reporting.
