Iowa: Youth vote fueled upsets for Sanders, Cruz, and Rubio — Here’s why

There were quite a few surprises in Iowa last night. In the Republican caucus, Ted Cruz bested front-runner Donald Trump, Marco Rubio got some major momentum, and Rand Paul’s predictions fell flat. In the Democratic caucus, Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders by a razor thin margin and a coin toss, proving that her path to the nomination isn’t so clear.

These unexpected results were likely due, in large part, to the participation of Iowa college students and young voters — who have different opinions than those reflected by the national polls. Young voters (ages 17-29), made up 15 percent of total caucus-goers, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). This was not as high as the record youth turnout of the 2008 Iowa caucuses, however it did set a record for Republican caucus participation, and likely pulled support away from the front-runners on both sides.

University of Iowa student Alexa Den Herder participated in the Republican caucus. She said that only four out of the 180 people at her precinct in Iowa City were not college students.

“It was really encouraging to see a huge conservative millennial turnout on a rather liberal campus,” she said. Den Herder chose to support Governor Jeb Bush herself, but said, “ultimately, I think millennials here in Iowa are looking for a new face in politics, and that is why the senators like Cruz and Rubio finished so strong.”

Iowa State University student Robert Dunn served as the chair of his precinct, organizing one person to speak for each of the GOP candidates and tallying up votes. Dunn said an “overwhelming” 250 people showed up to the precinct, many of them college students. When the final votes were tallied, Marco Rubio came out on top, with Ted Cruz in second, and Donald Trump trailing at a rather distant third place.