The Iowa Starting Line blog has been covering Iowa politics and the caucuses specifically through 2015, and they released their awards for the campaign operations in the state.
Hillary Clinton took what are, in my opinion, the three most important awards with regards to winning the caucuses.
http://iowastartingline.com/2015/12/31/the-2015-iowa-starting-line-awards/
Best Caucus Campaign
Hillary Clinton (Democrats) – Determined to not be tripped up again by the first caucus state, the Clinton team went all-in for Iowa early on this year. More importantly, they came in with a much better appreciation for the caucus process and a commitment to getting it right. They have, on all levels.
Clinton tied with Ted Cruz for this honor (and you cannot deny the guy seems to have kept his powder dry for the right moment). Marco Rubio “won” the distinction of having the worst caucus campaign.
Best Field Operation- Hillary Clinton
Outstanding Iowa Caucus Staffer- Michelle Kleppe, Organizing Director, Hillary for Iowa
While having the best campaign, staff, and field organization are obviously key to winning the state, Clinton had a few other wins.
Most Influential Endorsement
Sue Dvorsky, Hillary Clinton – Endorsements are nice, but sometimes all they get you is a press story. Dvorsky ended up joining the campaign full-time, and anyone who’s been involved in Iowa politics knows that few work harder than the always-energetic Dvorsky.
She was also the runner up for the most defining caucus moment
Runner Up: Clinton’s Week In October – It was actually more a stretch of 10 days, but we’ll call it a week. It started with the first Democratic debate, continued with Joe Biden declining to run, Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee dropping out, Clinton enduring the 11-hour Benghazi committee hearing, and finally ending with the campaign’s dominance at the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner. Her polls rebounded after that week and she’s never looked back.
There were other prizes awarded-
Bernie Sanders took home one award, for the best ad in the state-
x YouTube Video(Marco Rubio had the worst ad)
Bernie was also the runner up for “biggest surprise”
Runner Up: Bernie Sanders – It may seem odd to think now, but Sanders started out the year as a quirky far-left candidate not seen as very serious by most. His early visits to Iowa before he announced were okay, but nothing special. Sanders exploded in popularity after progressives gave up on Elizabeth Warren running, and has continued his incredible momentum despite a serious lack of press coverage.
Among the Democrats, the only other prize was for Martin O’Malley, and it was not a positive one-
Biggest Mistake
Martin O’Malley Waiting Until May To Announce – There was a lot of anxiety among progressives early on in 2015 when so many Republican candidates were declaring, while no Democrats had yet. O’Malley could have captured a lot of media attention had he jumped in in January, and might have gotten a serious look from Democrats when Clinton’s email server first came to light in March.
Republicans took the rest of the prizes, and I don’t much care what they get up to in Iowa, though Presidents Huckabee and Santorum might disagree.