[bigMatt]

01/03/08

DES MOINES - Tonight, the Iowa voters delivered the first chapter in the Rumble to the White House saga. With just over 50% of the precincts reporting so far, the contest for the 40 GOP delegates has already been declared, while the Democratic winner remains uncertain at this moment with five candidates still in the running.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has been declared the winner of the first Republican contest of 2008. A frontrunner in polls conducted throughout the Fall, Giuliani's win tonight was not a great surprise. However, the ease with which Giuliani is knocking out the rest of the GOP field is as unexpected as it is impressive. Giuliani's campaign theme, focused primarily on national security, evidently resonated with Iowa's voters. Giuliani currently holds a commanding lead of 21% over Houston Congressman Ron Paul. John McCain and Alan Keyes vie for distant third.

What is becoming apparent on the Democratic side is that voters are struggling to forward a clear frontrunner. With just over 50% of the precincts reporting, The race is officially too close to call. Five candidates still have a legitimate shot at earning top spot in tonight's Democratic caucuses. Currently, the vote count shows 24% for John Edwards, 22% for Christopher Dodd, 18% for Bill Richardson, with Mike Gravel and Barack Obama each sitting at 17%. Only Kucinich, Biden and Clinton appear to be out of the running.

Current Delegate count:

GOP
Rudy Giuliani: 40


DNC
Undeclared: 57

Final results will be announced once all precincts have been reported.