Joe Biden says Iowa caucus results were a "gut punch"

• "We took a gut punch in Iowa, the whole process took a gut punch," Biden said. "This isn't the first time in my life I've been knocked down."
• "I'm not going anywhere. And I'm counting on New Hampshire. We're going to come back," he added.
• He also directly took on Sanders and Buttigieg, attacking the former's democratic socialism and the latter's thin electoral resume.

The state of play: Should it hold, Biden's fourth-place finish in the first-in-the-nation caucuses could prove detrimental to his pitch as the most electable candidate — which was the main thrust of his argument as he toured Iowa in recent months.

• "We view Iowa as the beginning, not the end," said Biden surrogate Symone Sanders in the Iowa run-up, calling the first four contests — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — "four parts of one whole."

Go deeper: How Trump will use the Iowa caucus meltdown