IOWA CAUCUS RESULTS Republican 97% of precincts reporting Bush 41% Forbes 30% Keyes 14% Bauer 9% McCain 5% Hatch 1% Democrats 98% of precincts reporting Gore 63% Bradley 35% Percentages will not necessarily add to 100. MORE COVERAGE FROM THE GLOBE Bush, Gore wrap up Iowa The votes tell the contentment Lesson of Iowa: Counterattack quickly Candidates have one goal remaining: closing the deal Tight-three way race in New Hampshire envisioned Gore plays it cool and girds for battle Hatch to announce he's quitting race Small-town USA sees big time turnout at polls On the road in N.H., McCain dismisses Iowa Sharing quarters, but ever so briefly EARLIER NEWS Gore, Bush easy winners of Iowa caucuses Voters say Bush best choice on moral values, can win in November Democrats: Iowa picks fighter Gore over Bradley's fresh start Republicans: Bush aims to use caucus victory to set up showdown with McCain Fiery Keyes gets strong caucus support Down-home politics shape Iowa Iowa's only the first step in picking nominee With a final flury, candidates focus on turnout Former president waits nervously as son competes in Iowa caucuses After Iowa: On to New Hampshire ABOUT THE CAUCUSES How Iowa caucuses work Why they are important ABOUT IOWA Population: 2.85 million. Registered voters: 1.8 million -- 36 percent unaffiliated, 32 percent Republican, 31 percent Democrat. Percentage of voters attending GOP caucuses in 1996: 17 percent. Race: 97 percent white. 2 percent black. 1 percent Asian. 2 percent Hispanic origin. Median age: 36.3. Median household income: $33,877. Poverty rate: 9.4 percent. Unemployment rate: 2.7 percent. Abortions: 9.8 per 1,000 women in 1995, compared with the national average of 22.9 per 1,000. 1996 vote: 50 percent Clinton; 40 percent Dole; 9 percent Perot. Average life span: 77 years, compared with the U.S. average of 75. Housing: Just over 72 percent of Iowans own their own homes, national average 66.3 percent. Crime rate: 3,816 victims per 100,000 people in 1997, vs. national average of 4,923. Tax burden: On a per-person basis, Iowa paid $4,530 in federal taxes in 1997 and got back $4,661 in federal spending.

"I think it's a good jumping off point," said Keyes, a conservative talk-show host and former foreign service officer in the Reagan administration. "I'm sure our supporters will take heart from this."

Keyes, the only black presidential candidate in either major party, outpolled Gary Bauer, a longtime activist on social conservative issues, as well as Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and John McCain of Arizona. McCain is placing his early hopes in New Hampshire and did not campaign in Iowa.

Keyes, making his second run for the nomination, credited the frequent debates with offering him a platform to become better known -- a chance he seized with relish, appealing with fiery rhetoric for fellow conservatives to join him in a moral crusade.

He had little campaign organization in Iowa, but his crowds had grown in the days leading up to Monday's caucuses.

Keyes scored well with Iowa Republicans concerned about abortion and moral values, according to interviews conducted at caucus sites by Voter News Service, a consortium of The Associated Press, ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN.

Keyes was shut out of some debates during the 1996 Republican nomination battle, leading him to threaten a hunger strike and to get briefly arrested when he tried to crash a forum in Atlanta.

This time, Keyes' support moved up into the double digits, roughly doubling his showing in Iowa from four years ago when he came sixth in an eight-man field. Keyes faded in New Hampshire in 1996 and his campaign never caught on.

This time he got off to a better start.

"When we get down to the general election, we're not just going to have somebody out there taking a stand," Keyes said. "It's going to have to be someone who can defend that stand and who can persuade the American people to support it."