Obama, Huckabee win big in Iowa

Two of the more unlikely presidential candidates celebrated victory after the smoke from the Iowa caucuses cleared Thursday night. On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee beat out Mitt Romney by almost 10 percentage points. And on the Democratic ticket, Sen. Barack Obama showed America that race doesn't matter in Iowa, winning in a state whose caucus voters are 95 percent white

The first-term senator from Illinois told supporters his triumph showed that in "big cities and small towns, you came together to say, 'We are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come.'"

Former Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton seemed in a photo-finish for second, but after the votes were tallied, Edwards had eclipsed the former First Lady.

Huckabee celebrated his own victory over Mitt Romney and a crowded Republican candidacy.

"A new day is needed in American politics, just like a new day is needed in American government," the former Arkansas governor told cheering supporters. "It starts here but it doesn't end here. It goes all the way through the other states and ends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

Huckabee's success story seems all the more incredible because he spent roughly one-tenth the campaign money Romney had, yet still beat him by nine percentage points.

KFFO-TV had projected Huckabee with only 16 percent of the precincts reporting, shortly after cable news networks FOX News and CNN had named him the winner.

The New Hampshire primaries will be held Jan. 8.

Stay tuned to KFFO-TV and KFFOTV.com for continuing caucus coverage leading up to the 2008 Presidential election.