Iowa takeaways: Trump can't meet hype, Clinton underwhelms

The 2016 presidential contest moves on to New Hampshire, where the nation's first primary is just seven days away. To get you started, here are some takeaways from Iowa's leadoff caucuses:

Big turnout not big enough for Trump

Before Monday's contest, the major question about Donald Trump was whether his legion of fans would become an army of voters.

Plenty did, as turnout in the Republican caucuses was up by nearly 60,000 people compared to 2012. The problem for the billionaire businessman was he still didn't have enough backers to push past Ted Cruz.

Trump, a New Yorker through and through, was never well-positioned to win over rural Iowa's evangelical voters. More than 4 in 10 Republicans arriving at caucus sites said the candidate quality that mattered most in their vote was the candidate shares their values. Among those who said so, Cruz won the support of nearly 4 in 10, compared to less than 1 in 10 for Trump.

Marco Rubio

Close Democratic race

Hillary Clinton's campaign team declared victory in the early morning hours as they headed to New Hampshire, pointing to her capture of at least 22 delegates to the party's national convention to Bernie Sanders' 21 -- with one left to be decided.

But the Iowa results appeared likely to benefit Sanders' campaign more than her own.

"We came in and we took on the entire political establishment and we fought them to a draw," said Sanders adviser Tad Devine. "It's a huge step forward for us. We're very, very pleased with what happened."

Even before the caucuses, Sanders said he was prepared to compete deep into the spring and fight until the summer convention. He raised $20 million in January and will be well-positioned to build a campaign organization in the lengthy list of states holding contests in March.

Still, Iowa has a largely white, liberal Democratic electorate, which will make it difficult for Sanders to argue he's a stronger candidate than Clinton to face off against the GOP in the general election.

To do so, he'll need to win over the minority voters who play a major role in upcoming states on the primary calendar, including Nevada, South Carolina and several Southern states that hold contests in March.

Iowa trusted Cruz

By claiming victory in Iowa, Cruz ensures he'll be a force in the Republican primary contest for weeks to come, if not longer.

He moves on to New Hampshire as the favorite of his party's most conservative voters. Expect him to pick up support from like-minded candidates who underwhelmed Monday, among them former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who dropped out of the race.

Cruz won with an impressive ground game and beat back attacks from Trump and others about his trustworthiness, the cornerstone of his campaign and his "TRUSTED" slogan.

He's got built-in advantages that will help him sustain his momentum into the spring. Cruz began the year with more money than most of his competitors combined. After New Hampshire, he'll be able to spend it in more friendly territory as the GOP race moves into the South.

Rubio rising

He didn't win the most votes, but Marco Rubio had a good night in Iowa.

The first-term Florida senator claimed third place, finishing just behind Trump. More importantly, he dominated his competitors in the mainstream wing of the party, earning more votes than former Florida governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich combined.

Rubio's team also proved to be masters of the expectations game. Rubio's strong third-place finish exceeded expectations.