Now that the Iowa presidential caucuses are over, what can voters in Richmond, a majority African-American city, learn from the political choices of a lily-white state of cornfields and livestock that produced evangelist Robert Schuller and TV mom Donna Reed?

(It seems almost prophetic that American public opinion guru, the late George Gallup of Gallup poll fame, was born in Iowa.)

We ruminate here on several lessons from Iowa:

• The political gap is only getting wider.

The victory by Republican Ted Cruz, a Tea Party conservative on one hand, and the near-tie by Democrat Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, a self-identified Democratic Socialist on the other end, shows the wide philosophical chasm that continues to sharply divide this nation and likely will drive the election in November.

The champions of Iowa are polar opposites on the political spectrum. No moderate candidate made a strong showing.

So what energized both Republican and Democratic voters in Iowa — and what is likely to continue to draw voter interest and turnout across the nation — leaves little room for moderation.

In fact, Martin O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland who was viewed as a more moderate candidate on the Democratic side of the aisle, dropped out of the presidential nomination race after Monday night’s results were in.

And former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, both considered moderates when compared with their Republican competitors, polled 6th and 8th, respectively, out of a field of 12 GOP candidates.

• Young and African-American voters are key.

The millennial vote, as well as that of African-American voters, may be the key to winning in November, just as it was for President Obama in 2008 and 2012.

About 53,000 young Iowans, defined as voters ages 17 to 29, participated in the Iowa caucuses. They accounted for roughly 15 percent of the total number of caucus-goers, according to Tuft University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

They are a powerful force. Monday night, 84 percent of the millennials voted for Sen. Sanders. In 2008, President Obama won 57 percent of the youth vote in the Iowa caucuses.

While turnout among young Republicans broke a caucus record, according to the Tuft’s center, none of the GOP candidates won a majority of voters in that group. Sen. Cruz won the largest share of GOP millennial voters with 26 percent.

As Sen. Sanders said Monday night, “What Iowa has begun tonight is a political revolution. When young people and working people and seniors begin to stand up and say loudly and clearly, ‘Enough is enough’ … that the government of our great country belongs to all of us and not just billionaires, when that happens, we will transform this country.”

• Some candidates will change their positions based on the results.

Even before all the caucus results were in Monday night, former Secretary of State Clinton took the stage to claim victory — and sounded like Bernie Sanders.

There’s no doubt Sen. Sanders’ success is pushing Mrs. Clinton to the left. But it’s also an indication that she is like a jellyfish, moving in the direction the largest wave of voter support will take her.

By comparison, Sen. Sanders has been consistent in his message about the wealth inequality in this nation and the steps he’ll take to bring greater equity and opportunity to all people.

Mrs. Clinton’s shifting positions pose questions about the lengths she is willing to go should she be overwhelmed by Sen. Sanders’ supporters in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, Feb. 9, followed by South Carolina’s Democratic primary Feb. 27.

In 2008, she saw her nomination for president, which was assumed by many to be a foregone conclusion, snatched away by President Obama, a black man with an odd-sounding name. What will she do if her assumed crown is snatched away by a 74-year-old Jewish man from Vermont in an ending possibly more surprising than Miss Colombia’s at the Miss Universe pageant with Steve Harvey?

• Ridiculousness reigns.

Just days before the Iowa caucuses, Sen. Cruz promised during a stump speech to put french fries back in school cafeterias if elected. He was loudly cheered.

It was a slap at First Lady Michelle Obama, a proponent of healthy eating who has been instrumental in getting more nutritious fare into public schools to combat childhood obesity that can create expensive health issues in adulthood.

• Some people just don’t know when to leave.

Four candidates have exited the presidential nominating race since Monday — former Gov. O’Malley, a Democrat, and Republicans Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Rand Paul.

But Ben Carson …

We hope the brilliant neurosurgeon will exit the race before he shreds the last of his dignity.

He was pretty close to losing what remains last week when, during an appearance with schoolchildren in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he asked the group to point out the worst student in the bunch. He was trying to make a point using his own life story, telling the youngsters that he was a “horrible student” and was called a “dummy” as a youngster.

The response?

Crickets, initially.

Then students at the Christian academy began pointing to one kid, a 10-year-old, as the worst student in the fifth-grade class.

Dr. Carson continued, “Well, if you had asked that question in my classroom, there would have been no doubt.”

Hearing the story, many people were mortified that Dr. Carson would single out a student for poor achievement.

After the rally, the Republican dunce met with the youngster and told him, “So you know what we want from you, right? You’re going to be a neurosurgeon, right? All you have to do to (make) a turnaround is read …”

We believe that Dr. Carson needs to read the tea leaves, if nothing else.

Someone help him off the stage, puh-lee-zz.

• Showing up and voting is critical.

This lesson is one we got even before Iowa. But the caucuses remind us of the importance of being a part of the process instead of being left out.

Your vote is your voice.

When Virginians get to cast ballots in the presidential primaries on Tuesday, March 1, be there.

The deadline to register to vote in the Virginia primary is Monday, Feb. 8.