Contenders move to New Hampshire

The White House race picked up speed in New Hampshire on Tuesday after Iowa voters opened the 2016 contest by knocking the showman Donald Trump into humble second place, and Hillary Clinton scraped past a surging Bernie Sanders.

Exceeding pollster predictions, Trump's Republican arch-rival Ted Cruz streaked to victory in the boisterous Iowa caucuses kicking off the months-long process of nominating presidential candidates in the Republican and Democratic camps.

The billionaire real estate mogul whose campaign turned conventional politics on its head also now faces a threat from the telegenic Marco Rubio, who chalked up more than 23 percent to Trump's 24.3 percent, behind the evangelical Cruz on 27.7.

Clinton's razor-thin victory over Sanders -- 49.8 against 49.6 percent -- made clear she too has a real fight on her hands in the form of the Vermont senator and self-proclaimed democratic socialist as the primaries shift into high gear.

Before the Iowa tallies were even released, the contenders from both camps were jetting out to New Hampshire which holds its nomination votes a week from now, with Clinton and Sanders, Trump and Rubio holding competing rallies in the state Tuesday evening.

"Make no mistake we are in a fight to the finish," Clinton told supporters upon her arrival -- setting her sights on the trio leading the Republican race.

Party chair Andy McGuire called the final results "the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history," with several precincts so close they were decided by a coin toss.

"For Clinton, it was clearly a case of surviving and advancing," said Dante Scala, associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire.”

Sanders, who just months ago posed no threat as a fringe firebrand, declared a moral victory for his brand of progressive politics, brimming with confidence as polls give him a double-digit lead in New Hampshire.