Texas Senator Ted Cruz was victorious in the first Republican nomination contest of the 2016 White House race, but there was another big winner in Iowa on Monday night: Florida Senator Marco Rubio and the Republican establishment.

For months, Mr Cruz and Donald Trump’s brand of angry, scorched-earth, insurgent politics defined the race for the Republican presidential nomination, while more moderate candidates tussled with themselves to try to mount a challenge to them.

The hope among Republican party leaders has long been for a champion to emerge. And on Monday, that person was Mr Rubio, who finished a hair behind Mr Trump and only a few points behind Mr Cruz.

When Mr Rubio took the stage in a hotel ballroom after the final results were announced, he gave what amounted to a victory speech. “This is the moment they said would never happen,” the first-term Senator said. “For months, they told us we had no chance.”

The fight for the nomination has unmistakably entered a new phase.

Mr Rubio’s night shocked observers, who had predicted Mr Rubio would wind up far behind Mr Trump and Mr Cruz, with perhaps around 15-18 per cent of the vote. He finished with 23 per cent.