After accepting his second-place finish at the Iowa caucuses with uncharacteristic grace but calling the result an "honor," Donald Trump accused rival Ted Cruz on Wednesday of having won the contest through fraud. The Texas senator fired back, questioning the controversial real estate mogul's sanity.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!" Trump wrote on Twitter. The mogul took further offense at an alleged statement by Cruz that fellow Republican contender Ben Carson was quitting the race, slamming the far-right senator for "lying" about Carson and Trump's policies.

"Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified," the former "Apprentice" star continued.

#Trumptantrum

"I wake up every day and laugh at the latest thing Donald has tweeted. Because he's losing it," said Cruz while on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, the location of the next big primary election.

"We need a commander in chief, not a twitterer in chief," said the Iowa victor. "We need someone with judgment and the temperament to keep this country safe. I don't know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button."

Cruz won 27.7 percent of vote at Iowa's Republican Caucus, firmly ahead of Trump's 24 percent and third-place finisher Marco Rubio, who had about 23 percent. While polls put Trump firmly ahead in New Hampshire, the situation in the run-up to Iowa wasn't much different.

A loss in New Hampshire could spell the end of road for reality television star, who has offended both minorities and women during his campaign.

es/jr (AFP, Reuters)