On the morning after the Iowa caucuses, the victories of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have created a political world without frontrunners.

As of 6:45 a.m. Eastern on Friday morning, Rasmussen Markets data suggests that Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the nomination are down to 51% and Barack Obama’s have risen to 46%. That’s a dramatic change due to the events in Iowa. Before the caucus, the markets gave Clinton a 65% chance of winning and Obama were just 29% (current prices: Clinton %, Obama %).

On the Republican side at 6:45, John McCain was given a 30% chance of winning, Rudy Giuliani 26%, Mike Huckabee 18%, Mitt Romney 16%, and Fred Thompson 3% (current prices: McCain %, Romney %, Giuliani %, Huckabee %, and Thompson %).

These trends were visible almost immediately following the caucuses last night as indicated by the Market Update from 10:45 Eastern.

It will be interesting to see how these trends play out in national polls. On the Republican side, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll has shown Republicans in a competitive race with no clear frontrunner for months. Among Democrats, however, the national polling has consistently shown Clinton with a solid lead. New tracking poll results are posted at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time each day.

These numbers reflect results from a prediction market, not a poll. RasmussenMarkets.com is a “futures market” that harnesses competitive passions to becomes a reliable leading indicator of upcoming events. Using a trading format where traders "buy and sell" candidates, issues, and news features, the markets correctly projected both Obama and Huckabee as the winners in Iowa.

While there is no clear frontrunner, expectations have been raised very high for Barack Obama and John McCain. At 6:45, Obama was given a 64% chance of winning in New Hampshire while McCain was given a 75% chance (current prices: Obama % McCain %). Rasmussen Reports will be polling in New Hampshire tonight with results posted on Saturday morning. The latest Rasmussen polls in New Hampshire showed a close race between Clinton and Obama among Democrats and an equally close race between McCain and Romney in the GOP race.

Looking ahead to Michigan, McCain is a slight favorite. Prospects for other candidates and races are featured on the Rasmussen Markets Summary page.

We invite you would to participate in the Rasmussen Markets. It costs nothing to join and add your voice to the collective wisdom of the market.

Rasmussen Markets has launched a new set of market contracts yesterday. In addition to trading on the candidate prospects for winning in New Hampshire, participants in the Rasmussen Markets can trade on the prospects for each candidate to be one of the top three finishers in the Granite State.