Campaign strategy more important than stance

US SENATOR Ted Cruz beat billionaire Donald Trump in Iowa's Republican caucus on Monday. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders had to settle for a tie in the Democratic caucus. Beijing News says this signals a notable change in US politics:

Seeing the results of the Iowa caucuses as a major indicator in the coming contests, candidates from both sides, including the Republican front-runner Donald Trump and the heavily favored Hilary Clinton, have fought strenuously for more votes.

However, the eventual turnout seems to contradict the previous opinion polls: the conservative Ted Cruz defeated Trump and became the champion of the caucuses, Clinton just slightly came out ahead of Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist. Neither of the two winners managed to claim a landslide victory.