Latino Republican presidential candidates had a good night in Iowa, while Democrats almost encountered a statistical tie.

Republican Field

Once caucusing began in Iowa, shortly after 7 p.m. CST in most of more than 1,770 precincts, it was initially too close to call among Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. Based on polling data prior to the caucus, Cruz, Trump and Rubio were expected to place in the top three, but the Florida senator actually performed better than expected.

According to the Iowa Republican Party, as of 12:45 p.m. EST and with 99 percent of precincts reporting, Cruz won the caucuses with 27.6 percent, or 51,574 votes. Cruz defeated Trump, who placed second with 24.3 percent, or 45,381 votes. Rubio narrowly caught up to Trump with 43,071 votes, or 23.1 percent.

"Tonight is a victory for every American who understands that after we survive eight long years of the Obama presidency, no one personality can right the wrongs done by Washington," said Cruz during his victory speech.

Trump's address was short, stating his confidence he'll win the Republican nomination and was honored with the night.

With the rest of the GOP field, Ben Carson placed fourth with 17,372 votes (9.3 percent), Rand Paul with 8,469 votes (4.5 percent), Jeb Bush with 5,233 votes (2.8 percent), Carly Fiorina with 3,481 votes (1.9 percent), John Kasich with 3,472 votes (1.9 percent), Mike Huckabee with 3,344 votes (1.8 percent), Chris Christie with 3,278 votes (1.8 percent), Rick Santorum with 1,783 votes (1 percent), "other" with 119 votes (0.1 percent) and Jim Gilmore with 12 votes (0.0 percent).

For Huckabee, his Monday night performance was enough to end his campaign. As noted on Twitter, he suspended his campaign during the 9 p.m. CST hour.

Democratic Field

For Democrats, based on the Iowa Democratic Party's data with 97 percent of the precincts reporting by 12:55 p.m. EST, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were less than one-percent from tying. While the Democrats' Iowa race was already expected to be between Clinton and Sanders. Clinton initially held a slight lead but it began to decline during the night. Clinton would have 49.9 percent to Sanders' 49.6 percent by 12:55 p.m. EST.

Fellow Democratic candidate Martin O'Malley failed to gain traction, hitting 0.6 percent. He would also suspend his presidential campaign on Monday night.

"I want to thank everyone who came out to our events, and lent me their ear," said O'Malley in an emailed statement sent to supporters. "Everyone who went out to caucus for me tonight, and lent me their voice. I give you my deepest gratitude. Together we all stood up for working people, for new Americans, for the future of the Earth and the safety of our children. ... The road has been long, but our course has been true. A great many people have put their time and talents into my campaign and I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart. Whoever our nominee is, we must all hold strong, together."

Overnight, Clinton was announced the winner, but with a slim margin.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.