MSNBC host Rachel Maddow called it a "stunning result" Monday night that Hillary Clinton was virtually tied with upstart Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in the Democratic Iowa caucus with almost all precincts reporting.
"On the Democratic side, to have it to be 50-50, literally 50-50 right now, between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is itself a stunning result," Maddow said shortly before 11 p.m. on the east coast.
With more than 90 percent of precincts in, Clinton held less than half a percentage point lead in Iowa over Sanders, the same state where she was stunned with a third-place finish in 2008.
"Ultimately you expect a race that isn't so close that you have to pay attention to these numbers," Maddow said. "This is a stunner for a number of reasons."
Maddow also took exception to the Clinton campaign declaring victory ahead of the networks calling it, saying it was a "remarkable" strategic gambit.
Fellow host Brian Williams reminded viewers that Clinton's march to the nomination was supposed to be more of a "coronation" than a tough battle, which it has turned into with the self-described socialist Sanders.