this is a special edition of "nightline," the iowa caucuses. >> tonight, cruz shocks trump. >> god bless the great state of iowa. >> whose entire candidacy is built around the notion of winning is projected to lose the iowa caucuses to senator ted cruz. >> god bless you! >> on theside, another huge story, the once-inevitable hillary clinton locked in a dead heat with a surging bernie sanders. behind the scenes with the e down to the wire. candidates practically begging people to caucus. >> get out of bed and caucus!

of volunteers.ning mates. we're with the men and women who know the candidates better than anybody. a rare insight into love and politics. >> he will be unbelievable. the candidates' spouses are telling us about stumping right by their side. first tonight the "nightline 5". >> the bold nissan rogue with all-wheel drive. because winter needs a hero. now get a $199 per month lease on the 2016 nissan rogue.t excites.

good evening. in a presidential race that has been wild and unpredictable, tonight the voters weighed in for the first time and they maded and unpredictable. here now the numbers out of the iowa caucuses. on the republican side, a big projected victoryenator ted cruz. he comes out on top. this is a surprise. followed by the billionaire businessman and ex-reality star donald trump who had been leading in the polls coming intoa close third, and this is another surprise, florida senator marco rubio finishing much stronger than expected. democrats. the ry clinton neck and neck right now sanders. originally written off as a fringe candidate. that race still too close to ave team coverage on this momentous evening and we start

cruz headquarters, good evening.s the first republican to get into a brawl with donald trump. and to beat him. this was a triumph of organization. he did it with a single-minded focus onevangelical voters that dominate here. as for donald trump, he has a new title tonight -- loser. after dominating the polls for months, he has now lost the first contest.arco rubio had such a strong showing here, 23%, that he almost beat trump out for second place. let me tell you, this is just the beginning.ow on his way to new hampshire, a state where he has a huge lead. far bigger than he ever had in iowa. so stay tuned. we've got a long way to go, dan. >> a both the republicans and the democrats. jon karl, thank you. so much to talk about tonight. so let's bring in abc news political analyst matthew dowd, r. so we've seen in the past conservative candidates win in

so does ted cruz have a clear path to the nomination at this point? >> no, he doesn'tpath to the nomination. iowa's caucus has a larger percentage of evangelical voters than any other state he's going toof the process. he doesn't have a state now where he can put together the same coalition. he's going to figure out where he can win next and do the same thing in iowa. >> another big story trump, he's been the big story of this campaign. let's listen to a little bit of his concession speech. here it is. >> in fact, i think i might come here and buy a farm. thank you. thank you, everybody. >> so three words that you don't donald trump. gracious in defeat.t is this for him? >> he had an opportunity, if he had won tonight, as the leader, to start putting this race away and running the table. he would have won new hah carolina, begun to put the race away. he no longer can do that, it's a three-perpendicular race.

it's a must to win n week. >> it as wide-open race. >> completely, completely. >> rubio surging tonight as well. before i let you go i want to talk about the democrats. clinton who was once considered inevitable, a shoo-in. almost beaten by a 74-year-old former socialist. how much trouble is she this? >> she like donald trump, she o basically start to put this race away with a clear victory tonight. she didn't get that. now she faces a likely loss in new hampshire. so the next place she can win isna. so that race is now -- which could have been shortened if she had won tonight overwhelmingly -- is going to be a much longer race and go into march for nk you. so many amazing moments tonight. for a look at the sights and sounds from a historic evening, abc's david wright at the sanders headquarters. good evening to you.r: good evening. the sanders crowd highly energized here tonight. on one side of this race you've

on the other side an upset. true to form, 2016 seems to to be a year where the pundits might as well hang up their hats and hang on for the ride. >> god bless the great state of iowa.ight more signs that nothing is inevitable in 2016. on the republican side, ted cruz trumped billionump. >> 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 bethe washington establishment. but will be chosen by we the people, the american people. democratic side, too close to project. even as hillary clinton seemed to declare victory --

thank you iowa! i want you to knowp doing what i have done my entire life. >> reporter: bernie sanders isn't conceding anything. >> it looks like we are in a virtual tie. hard-fought campaign touched every corner of this rural farm state. all 99 counties. >> the eyes of the worldght. >> reporter: a record number of gop caucusgoers turned out to n 180,000 statewide. for donald trump, the front-runner most of the way here, the question has always been would those huge crowds at the trump rallieshuge crowds of trump voters? >> get out of bed and caucus. you got to do it. >> reporter: tonight he was way. even in second place donald trump still tried to sound like a winner. >> we finished second and i want

i'm just honored. i'm really honored. and i want toted. >> reporter: trump may well have been hurt by this line -- >> how stupid are the people of iowa? >> reporter: which came back to haunt him in cruz's campaigntupid are the people of iowa? >> reporter: also, it may not have helped that he skipped that last debate. the third place finisher on the republican side, marcoalso treated tonight as victory. >> for months they told us we had no chance. >> reporter: now a caucus gets a lot of attention because it comes first. but in many ways this stately representative of the rest of the nation. eight years ago mike huckabee won here. four years ago rick santorum. >> more than 90% white, you look at it from a standpoint more evangelicals per captain than the rest of the country. but it's also the state that gave the green light to president obama. >> reporter: the ad war brutal, up to the wire. the big day is here in aould know the winners of the iowa caucuses --

tonight -- >> postal workers to nurses, he's been endorsed for real sanders. >> reporter: including a mini campaign debate in every commercial break. >> in a world as complex as this, we need a president as experienced as hillary.s been like this for months. the campaigns and their super pacs spent more than $70 million on ads here. >> john kasich. >> i'm chris christie i approve this message. >> reporter: 17,000 ads airing in this state during the last month alone. that's the equivalent of six full days of political ads >> hi, iowa, i'm ivanka trump. >> reporter: donald trump's daughter featured in this show and tell ad. the glamorous new york socialites how the caucus system works. >> i am really excited to tell you how to caucus for my father, donald j. trump. >> reporter: a lot of them

norland and her mom lauren attending their first caucus. both of them slightly undecided. >> you're coming in with an openyeah, definitely. >> somewhat, somewhat. >> somewhat? you have an idea of who you want to vote for? >> yeah. >> but you're ready to be persuaded if somebody else can persuade >> reporter: they were leaning towards martin o'mally but well aware he might not meet the threshold to survive. we asked the vice principal ofhe caucus is being held to explain the process. what advice would you have for whole thing? >> would i would do is know this is a very fluid going to start the count -- >> in theory the hillary people on one side, the bernie people on the other, and they're all going to be trying to get the come to them? >> exactly. all of a sudden the o'mally people will have more significance in this process. >> reporter: tonight o'mally suspended his campaign, freeing his voters to move to other democratic candidates.

order to give the people a choice. and the people have made their choice tonight. >> reporter: the iowa caucus is organization, not just inspiration. today an army of volunteers helped out. we met this one banking for ted cruz. >> i made 833 calls for ted cruz. >> reporter: and there was jim kay at sanders headquarters. >> have you ever done this before? >> no.ome from? >> phoenix. >> you drove from phoenix? >> starting yesterday morning. >> to be here to help with the caucus? >> yes. >> how come?s really a place where i feel like i can make a difference sgln. >> reporter: tonight he made a difference by fielding phone calls at directing vote toes their caucus sites. >> what can i help you out with? sure, i can get you your caucus location. >> reporter: he's 30 years old, an electrical engineer who took time off work to be strongly he feels.

results been counted and it's onward to new hampshire. some with a boost, others slightly bruised.oth parties now in full swing. >> on to new hampshire. so long, everybody. >> reporter: i'm david wright for "nightline" in des moines.lose with the people who see a side of the presidential candidates most of us will never glimpse. their spouses. how does marriage survive t type 2 diabetes doesn't care who you are. man woman . city country we're just everyday people fighting high blood sugar. i am everyday people. farxiga may help in that fight every day.g with diet and exercise, nfarxiga helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. r r one pill a day helps lower your a1c.ugh it's not a weight-loss or blood-pressure drug, r r farxiga may help you lose weight and may even p p lower blood pressure when used

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the crucible of a presidential tonight abc's linsey davis spends time with the people who know the candidates better than anybody, their spouses. >> reporter: tonight in iowa, the candidates in a race. at their sides, their real-life running mates, one of whom could end up becoming the next first spouse. >> give it up for michelle obama!was eight years ago that many voters met a young michelle obama for the first time, standing next to her husband as he won the iowa caucus in 2008. goes, you can tell a lot about a person by the company he or she keeps. >> look at her. >> reporter: which is why abc news recently sat down with some of the spouses whody, or the first first gentleman. >> i've been married 29 years. >> 18 years. >> 25 years. >> and the next president of the >> is my running mate. >> my running mate. >> bernie sanders. >> dr. ben carson. >> ted cruz. >> i'm here to tell you,

mean game of up some meatballs. >> simmer them in a sauce all day long -- >> reporter: went out running on the street and out on the trail. took me bird watching, introduced me to their grandchildren -- >> done! sometimes even let down their hair. >> i've never told anybody that. >> what made you fall in love with chris? >> he had great stories. he still has great stories. >> reporter: tonight all eyes on the front runners, all with very different love stories. for the cruzs it was a love story that blossomed out of. as they worked on george w. bush's campaign in 2000. >> i've always been certain about ted's talent. i've always known that if other people could see what i saw,ote for him. >> you've said it was love at first sight? >> i found ted very compelling. he is a warm person, he's smart, he also likes to have fun.

that is a huge contribution to this election. >> reporter: heidi, harvard business school grad, put her position as aexecutive on hold to hit the trail with her husband. do you think working at goldman is at all a political liability for your husband running for president? >> you know, i've been asked if ted is and ted is not anti-wall street, he's not anti any business. he is against government subsidies for any industries. and he's said that over and ple seem to either love or hate ted cruz. why do you think he's so polarizing? >> he's happy to expose the inequil the truth. if you're not on the side of the truth, if you are not in there trying to fix the problem, you don't like >> when we met, it will soon be 45 years ago in a couple of months, when we met, we fell in reporter: former president bill clinton has hit the trail

of their courtship which began at the yale law school library. >> she closed her law book,ire length of the library, walked to me, she said, look. if you're going to keep staring at me, and i'm going to keep staring ht to know each other's name. i'm hillary rodham, what's your name? >> reporter: after multiple proposals she finally said e married in their living room with 15 gists. a tad less extravagant than the wedding of donald trump that the clintons attended in 2005. >> he will be unbelievable, the best t master negotiator. >> reporter: melana trump has been very private but recently sat down with abc's barbara do you feel about campaigning? >> well, it's my choice not to be there. i support my husband 100%. him.

her husband as a problem solver, something she says first attracted her to him when he ran for mayor of ont. >> when he was running for mayor he knocked on every door. and i opened the inside door and i said, don't worry, you've got my vote. and that was it, the first words i spoke toter: while her husband of 27 years now tries to woo america, she finally recounts her own courtship and the very first date. >> i was outside talking to somed he came out and said hello. then kept on walking. he turned back again. and said, have you eaten? and of course i had but i said, no. eat. at the mexican restaurant. so this is the wedding. and my maids. and davey walked me down the aisle. >> reporter: they're inseparable in this campaign, they have his and hers k together.

so -- you know, since having a separate office from me.da senator marco rubio ostensibly has the biggest cheerleader of all in his running mate and wife of 17 years, janette rubio. >> hi, how are you?ormer actual cheerleader for the miami dolphins. they are high school sweethearts who met just down the road from their home today. shortly after announcing his president, the parents of four sat down with george stephanopoulos. >> tell us, was he smooth? well -- >> i was funny. >> he was funny. that he was. he was funny. he definitely charmed me with his humor. come to this for all of these spouses who know only one candidate will end up taking the oath of office. but each of them has already made a vow, to loveerish forever. for "nightline" i'm linsey davis in new york.

and to watch the full episodes of our naibs news digital series to abcnews.com. we'll be right back. [screaming] the bold nissan rogue, with intuitive all wheel drive. nter needs a hero. now get a $199 per month lease on the 2016 nissan rogue. that excites. e trade is all about seizing opportunity. and i' d like to... cut. so i' m gonna take this opportunity to direct. call you. evening, film noir, smoke, atmosphere... bob...

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a recap of our top story. a huge and surprising night in the iowa caucuses. on the republican side the projected winner, texaso edged out the billionaire businessman donald trump who'd been leading in the polls. another surprise, florida senator marco rubio coming in a expectations. on the democratic side it is too close to project.

the formidable front-runner, heat with vermont senator bernie sanders. thank you for watching "nightline" tonight. marco rubio will be live on gma first thing in the morning. online 24/7 on our "nightline" facebook page and at abcnews.com. thanks again for watching and