The results from Monday's Iowa Caucuses are in, with a few surprises.
Here is what you need to know.
1. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took the lead over billionaire businessman Donald Trump in Monday's caucuses, with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) coming in third. Sen. Cruz captured 27.6 percent of caucus-goers, while Mr. Trump had 24.3 percent and Sen. Rubio had 23.1 percent. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, MD; Sen. Rand Paul, MD, (R-Ky.); and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush trailed far behind, and the rest of the Republican candidates even farther behind that, according to the Republican Party of Iowa.
2. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) finished neck in neck. Ms. Clinton just barely inched past Sen. Sanders, with 49.8 percent of the vote, compared to 49.6 percent of the vote, according to the Iowa Democratic Party website. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley received 0.5 percent of the vote.
"The results tonight are the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history. Hillary Clinton has been awarded 700.59 state delegate equivalents, Bernie Sanders has been awarded 696.82 state delegate equivalents, Martin O'Malley has been awarded 7.61 state delegate equivalents and uncommitted has been awarded .46 state delegate equivalents," IDP Chair Andy McGuire, MD, said in a prepared statement.
3. Mr. O'Malley and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee ended their campaigns.
"While I truly wish the results were different, I would rather lose with honor than win without it," Mr. Huckabee wrote in a statement. According to USA Today, he joked, "Voters are sick of me."
"The road has been long, but our course has been true. A great many people have put their time and talents into my campaign and I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart," Mr. O'Malley wrote in his campaign suspension statement. Neither Mr. O'Malley nor Mr. Huckabee chose to endorse candidates at this time.
4. Though the results were surprising, ultimately where Iowa votes count most is in media attention and ego. Only about 1 percent of delegates come from Iowa to the national conventions in July, and success in Iowa doesn't always spell success in November. Past Republican Iowa Caucus winners include Rick Santorum in 2012 and Mr. Huckabee in 2008, both of whom did not ultimately win the nomination.
That said, the results were humbling to frontrunners Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton. Mr. Trump took a brief hiatus from Twitter, and when he returned came out with an uncharacteristically tactful tweet following the results: "My experience in Iowa was a great one. I started out with all of the experts saying I couldn't do well there and ended up in 2nd place. Nice." Mr. Trump, however, is back at it attacking Sen. Cruz on the social media site.
And though Ms. Clinton welcomed the win, her advisers told The New York Times the close race "privately frustrated" the Clintons, who were hoping the caucuses would give her a chance to solidify her lead before heading into New Hampshire.
5. Now, candidates have already hit the campaign trail in New Hampshire. Polls show Mr. Trump has a strong lead in New Hampshire on the Republican side, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sens. Cruz and Rubio and Mr. Bush nearly all trailing 25 percentage points behind, according to The New York Times.
Ms. Clinton's campaign put much of its stock in Iowa, and Sen. Sanders is currently leading in the New Hampshire polls by 17 percentage points, according to The New York Times.
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