In the Iowa caucus, Sen. Ted Cruz took a plurality of Iowa’s Republican delegates, closely followed by businessman Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won a narrow victory over Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic caucus.

#IowaGate(s)?

First, there was the whole “coin-flip dispute” in the overly complicated Democratic decision. This CNN article should dispel any of your suspicions (in short: Each candidate won some tiebreakers, but they had no noticeable effect on the final state delegate count). Nevertheless, the Sanders campaign was less than happy with the results and “transparency,” further widening the divide between the two camps.

On the Republican side, the Cruz campaign was accused of unethical behavior by spreading errant CNN reporting about Ben Carson. Reports had surfaced of Carson heading home to Florida before the voting started, signaling a break in campaigning. These reports proved false, but not until after the Cruz campaign started courting Carson voters late in the day in Iowa. Chaos reigned the following day with Trump and Carson attacking Cruz.

Last week’s winners & losers

Winner: Bernie Sanders. While he didn’t win Iowa, he ran a close enough campaign to achieve viability. That fact, coupled with his strong debate performances and growing concerns about Clinton’s Wall Street ties, makes Sanders the winner this week. Expected to win in New Hampshire, Sanders certainly must commit to attacking Clinton’s email controversy and “big bank” ties to further weaken her image nationally.

Winner: Republican governors. While Cruz and Rubio were the “winners” of the Iowa caucus, their debate performances and Cruz’s campaign controversy leave much to be desired. On the other hand, the three governors in the race (Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich) really dominated Saturday night’s debate. Christie hammered Rubio, who literally repeated the exact same sentence three times. Kasich’s positive and experienced conservative message complements his tireless touring of the Granite State. Even Jeb! managed to take a few shots at Trump. New Hampshire is make-or-break for these three.

Loser: Basically every pollster in the country. The pollsters really missed in Iowa. Trump had about a 5-point average lead in RealClearPolitics’ polling aggregate, yet he lost to Cruz by more than 3 percentage points. An 8-point swing that was only slightly more shocking than Rubio’s strong third-place finish, whose final vote tally was higher than any pollster’s prediction. For the Democrats, it wasn’t much different. Clinton won by less than half of 1 percentage point, but her aggregate poll average had her at a 4 percentage point lead over Sanders. It was a tough night for pollsters and those who trust them. Don’t religiously trust polling this early in the race.

Loser: The Democratic National Committee. The DNC had kept a tight lease on the candidates, limiting their debate and exposure. But desperate to get his message out, Sanders challenged Clinton to four additional (unsanctioned) debates. She agreed, forcing the DNC to back down from its ban on additional debates. Many had accused the DNC of being too pro-Clinton, but embarrassed from debate criticism, the DNC was outmaneuvered by its own candidates.

New Hampshire preview

In the Democratic polls, Sanders has a commanding lead over Clinton — unsurprisingly, given the state’s proximity to his Vermont and its overwhelmingly white liberal population. A win for him is expected, but if it’s a smaller margin than most pollsters are predicting, it could be trouble for him. Clinton’s campaign can use this to assuage her campaign’s fears elsewhere. A win for her would be improbable, but it would be devastating to Sanders. If Sanders wins as big as polls indicate, look for continued defections from Clinton’s supporters nationally.

On the Republican side, it’s a little more complicated. Trump seems solidly in first, but we said that in Iowa. The three governors, Kasich, Christie and Bush, are all banking on success here. Rubio and Cruz are also in the mix. A weak showing for any of the remaining fringe candidates (Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore) or the governors will probably force them out of the race. The focus will be on the order of the finishers, especially two through five.

My predictions

Kasich pulls a stunning upset in New Hampshire — or at the very least finishes a strong second among the Republicans. A weak performance from him, Bush, Christie or Carly Fiorina will probably mean the end of their campaigns, where they’ll join Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee.

Sanders wins handily over Clinton, as expected in New Hampshire. Both will fight hard as they move to less white and liberal states, more representative of the general electorate.

And you know the saying, “As New Hampshire goes, so goes the nation.”

Matt Dragonette, opinion editor, is a senior accounting and government and politics major. He can be reached at mdragonettedbk@gmail.com.