Campaign strategy more important than stance

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa February 1, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

US senator Ted Cruz beat billionaire Donald Trump in Iowa's Republican caucus on Monday. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders had to settle for a tie in the Democratic caucus. Beijing News says this signals a notable change in US politics:

Seeing the results of the Iowa caucuses as a major indicator in the coming contests, candidates from both sides, including the Republican front-runner Donald Trump and the heavily favored Hilary Clinton, have fought strenuously for more votes.

However, the eventual turnout seems to contradict the previous opinion polls: the conservative Ted Cruz defeated Trump and became the champion of the caucuses, Clinton just slightly came out ahead of Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist. Neither of the two winners managed to claim a landslide victory.

True, the unexpected tumultuous contest has attracted a lot more zealous voters than previous elections. But that they voted overwhelmingly for the less experienced politicians, including Cruz, Trump and Sanders, points to the fact that they are more likely to endorse the campaign-runners who show contempt for those with governing experience.

That is why Trump's outrageous proposals to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico and deport millions of undocumented migrants now in the US, and Sanders's ideals of "democratic socialism", have gained fresh momentum among many voters.

Their popularity signals a notable change in US politics, as well as a big challenge to traditional leaders in both parties, who are supposed to fight back before the primaries are over.

That being said, the victory of Cruz and Clinton may not be an accident, given they have the political and financial capabilities to mobilize grassroots voters, because choosing the right campaign strategy will be more important than repeating political stances during the rest of the election.