Former President Donald Trump won a landslide victory in the first Republican primary of the 2024 presidential race, taking home three times more delegates than his closest opponent and over 50% of the popular vote.
With more than 95% of the votes counted following Monday’s caucus in Iowa, Trump had 51% of the electorate and 19 delegates, far ahead of Republican rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, who earned 21.3% and 19.1% respectively. DeSantis won eight delegates and remained in second place, while Haley scored seven.
As the race came to a close late in the evening, Trump penned a social media post thanking his supporters in Iowa, writing “I LOVE YOU ALL!”
The victory comes on the heels of favorable polling for the frontrunner, with an NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey giving him an almost 30-point advantage over the other candidates.
While the same poll put former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in second place, the number two spot went to DeSantis, Florida’s current governor.
Before heading home, Haley hurled a veiled criticism at Trump, telling supporters “If you want to move forward with no more vendettas, if you want to move forward with a sense of hope, join us in this caucus.”
GOP newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, came in fourth with 7.7% of the vote, but won no delegates.
Trump’s win in Iowa follows significant campaigning in the state, vastly outdoing his showing in the 2016 race, which Texas Senator Ted Cruz ultimately won. According to the Associated Press, Trump’s team “paid special attention to building a sophisticated digital and data operation to regularly engage with potential supporters.”
Since 1972, Iowa – traditionally seen as a Republican stronghold – has been the first state in the US to hold its caucus in advance of the election and its results are often interpreted as a sign of how other states might sway ahead of November’s election. The candidates will head to New Hampshire for the next round of voting, with Trump expected to hold a rally in the state after attending a court hearing in New York.
As the 2024 election season kicks off, the former president faces multiple criminal indictments, including charges linked to alleged election interference, hush money payments to a porn star, and mishandling of classified material. Trump has rejected all the charges against him, calling them part of a political “witch hunt” launched by his opponents in the Democratic Party.