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Portsmouth: Barack Obama said that young people helped him win Iowa’s Democratic caucus on Friday.
"So it really was a victory for the people of Iowa," Obama said after his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards.
Obama said his message of hope and a desire for change hit home with Iowans, encouraging many to vote for the first time.
"I really think that the country is interested not just in change in the abstract but in the very specific kind of change which involves them getting involved, paying attention, holding their elected officials accountable," he said. "That was reflected, I think, in the results.”
Obama and his aides said that record turnout—about 239,000 Democrats voted—and strong support among women and young people helped push him to victory.
Obama's chief strategist and analyst David Axelrod said the results showed that Iowans believed that Obama was more likely to be able to bring about change in Washington than Clinton.
"I think it's a pro-change vote and she's not a change candidate," Axelrod said.
Axelrod said Obama beat Clinton among women by five percentage points. About 57 per cent under 29 years old voted for Obama, representing 22 per cent of the total vote.
"I want to say thank you to the people of Iowa because I think they've sparked a potential movement for change in the country that will be inspiring for a lot of people," he said.
"It makes me very optimistic about the country. I think we can do it with the country as a whole," he said.
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