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.

"Tipper and I can't wait to get to New Hampshire," Gore said in a telephone call to the state's governor, Jeanne Shaheen, and supporters watching Iowa returns.

Bradley congratulated Gore for a strong showing, but professed to be undaunted.

"Tonight, I have a little more humility, but no less confidence that I can win and do the job," he told supporters. As for Gore, "I will be seeing a lot of him in the coming weeks."

Gore said New Hampshire will be "fought on its own terms" when the state holds its first-in-the-nation primary on Feb. 1. "It stands on its own."

Gore was leading Bradley 63 percent to 35 percent. He claimed 30 of the 47 delegates at stake.

The vice president won support among those who care most about popular Democratic mainstays -- education, Social Security and Medicare, according to a survey of caucus goers.

Senior citizens overwhelmingly responded to Gore's argument that Bradley would jeopardize Medicare by failing to shore up the program for the baby boom's retirement. Gore took 75 percent of the votes among those concerned most about programs for the elderly.

Sixteen percent of caucus-goers were independents and, despite Bradley's direct appeals to this group, he and Gore split Iowa independents.

Bradley had begun the day hoping for a surprise, as he told a raucous rally of mostly students at Iowa State University in Ames. A poster on the wall there summed up the core of his candidacy: "When was the last time we had a president we could be proud of?"

No matter the results in Iowa, Bradley said he had the bankroll to fight on for the nomination in next week's New Hampshire primary and in the cluster of state primaries on March 7, which he called the first "national primary."

House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, a Gore booster, voiced some concern about a protracted nomination fight. "For the sake of winning the House, we would like to coalesce as soon as possible, coalesce resources. But I would never tell any candidate that they should get out," said Gephardt.

Gore showed confidence in his win in the final days before voting. At his last pre-caucus rally, Gore looked like a star quarterback taking the field, his fists aloft, as he hustled down a chute of high school cheerleaders to take the floor at the University of Iowa gymnasium.

Bradley pumped as much as $2 million into the state and spent most of the month here. But he did not begin drawing real crowds -- comparable to the 400 or 500 that greeted Gore at every turn -- until the final days.

Precious days in the final week were consumed by questions about Bradley's heartbeat irregularity and whether he had tarnished his "non-politician" appeal by going after Gore on decades-old tobacco votes and Gore's tactics in his failed 1988 presidential race.

In the end, Bradley campaigned here on the pillars of his campaign: universal access to health insurance, alleviation of child poverty, gun control and campaign finance reform. He said he wanted to "restore some honor and trust to the system."

Mike Edwards, a Des Moines-area computer programmer, said he favored Bradley because he "seems more of an anti-politician than Gore, who's been in the thick of it for the last eight years."

Medical student Erin Roylance, waiting outside Gore headquarters for a glimpse of the candidate and his wife, Tipper, said Gore's time in the White House "gives him name recognition and makes him the best Democratic candidate to win for us" in November.

It was in the thick of Clinton's impeachment that Gore launched his race and then publicly stumbled as he sought distance from the president, a meaningful message, a loyal staff, an appealing wardrobe.

Gore acknowledged his rocky start. "Total immersion in this process is something that I think has been very good for me. I have been able to communicate more effectively because of what I've learned from the people of Iowa and New Hampshire," he said.

The past few days brought dozens of White House aides and former aides onto the campaign trail to pitch in for Gore. Officials said the government workers were in Iowa on personal vacation time.

Ultimately, Gore sought to turn his resume from the White House, and from the Senate and House before that, to his advantage. At the same time, he sought to paint Bradley as a quitter in Democratic fights (he resigned his Senate seat amid Clinton's battles with the Republican Congress) and a leader who would focus only on his pet priorities.

"I haven't turned my back or walked away from any fight over the past seven years," he said.