Texas Senator Ted Cruz has won the Iowa Republican caucuses, the first vote of the US 2016 presidential election.
"Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives," he declared, to great applause, as he railed against Washington, lobbyists and the media.
He took 28% of the Republican vote, beating his rival, the once frontrunner Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio.Votes in the Democratic race are still being counted, and some US media have declared it a dead-heat.
With 95% of results confirmed, Hillary Clinton clung to the narrowest of leads over Bernie Sanders and told supporters she was "breathing a sigh of relief".
The former secretary of state and first lady stopped short of declaring victory, and her rival, a 74-year-old senator from Vermont said it was a "virtual tie".
In the end it was a victory for organisation over enthusiasm. Despite trailing Donald Trump in the polls for much of the last two weeks, Ted Cruz swept to a comfortable win in Iowa.
During his victory speech, he repeatedly thanked his grass-roots support - and for good reason.
He and his campaign had invested considerable time and money to grind out a victory in this key state, and they were ultimately rewarded for their efforts.
With this result Mr Cruz now has the momentum to survive what looks to be an uphill battle among the more moderate voters in New Hampshire and then win over the deeply conservative, evangelical voters of Southern states that dominate the primary calendar in the following weeks.
It appears increasingly likely that a showdown for Mr Cruz looms on the horizon with the surprise third-place finisher in Iowa, Senator Marco Rubio.
And Mr Trump - even if his supporters did not turn out in the numbers expected - will surely remain a factor."Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment," said Mr Cruz."
Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across Iowa and all across this great nation.We cannot continue to have a corrupt campaign finance system"
Mr Trump congratulated the Texas senator and said he was "honoured" by the second-place finish.
Mr Rubio, who has struggled to gain support in recent months, has performed far better than expected, and finished in third place - just one percentage point behind Mr Trump.
Marco Rubio gave a speech that was like a victory rally Meanwhile, two candidates are bowing out.
Sources close to Democrat Martin O'Malley, former Maryland governor, have said that he will suspend his campaign - narrowing the field to two competitive candidates.On the Republican side, Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee tweeted that he too would suspend his campaign.
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