DES MOINES, Iowa – Following his overwhelming win in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucus, the former president Donald Trump immediately turned his attention to the state that would vote next in the GOP primary process.
At his victory celebration in Iowa’s capitol and largest city, Trump told supporters, “It’s now off to New Hampshire, a great place.”
Trump, the overwhelming Republican front-runner seeking to reclaim his former position as president, destroyed his opponents in Iowa’s opening race.
In Monday night’s Republican caucuses in Iowa, he broke the previous record for the largest margin of victory with a majority of the vote. His swift victory served as a springboard for winning the GOP nominee.
Watch: TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO IOWA SUPPORTERS FOLLOWING HIS WIN IN CAUCUS
Being the first sitting president to face criminal charges last year, Trump’s four indictments—which included allegations that he attempted to reverse his loss in the 2020 contest—have only strengthened his support among Republicans.
Before the Iowa Caucuses, Trump had a commanding lead in both national and Iowa public opinion surveys pertaining to the GOP nomination.
“He essentially achieved his goals, which is what he desired. Veteran Republican strategist and Iowa campaign veteran David Kochel told Fox News, “He wanted to be over 50, and he did it.” “Trump did what he needed to do.”
Republican strategist Jimmy Centers, a season resident of Iowa, said to Fox News that Trump “won across all demographics.”It indicates to me that they had a highly advanced data-driven system. They were aware of their margins. They succeeded in hitting those in order to raise that percentage above 50%. It’s a truly outstanding performance.”
A strong finish in Iowa proved to be crucial to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, as he narrowly defeated former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley—who held the position of U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration—to finish a significant second to the outgoing president.
“They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us,” DeSantis remarked in reference to his opponents’ barrage of negative assaults and advertisements at a rally to supporters on Monday night.
“Because of your support, in spite of all of that that they threw at us, everyone against us, we’ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa,” he said.
In the previous Republican presidential contest, DeSantis was the overwhelming favorite to unseat Trump. He was duly re-elected to a second term as governor of Florida fourteen months ago.
But DeSantis’s support in the polls began to decline after a string of campaign failures during the summer and fall, as well as the scathing criticism from Trump and his friends.
DeSantis was wagering going into the Iowa caucuses that his brilliant ground game—which mainly depends on the affiliated super PAC Never Back Down—would get him through to the end.
Haley grabbed momentum during the fall months and caught up with DeSantis for second place in polls in Iowa and in national surveys in recent weeks.
She also surged to second place, surpassing DeSantis and narrowing the gap with Trump, in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar. The Granite State’s Jan. 23 primary is just a week away.
WHAT HALEY TOLD SUPPORTERS IN IOWA ON MONDAY NIGHT
Haley, addressing her supporters on Monday night, once again framed the nomination race as a contest between herself and Trump.
“When you look at how we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” she said.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate who has been campaigning nonstop throughout Iowa in recent months, abandoned his candidacy following a dismal fourth place performance.
In addition to expressing his intention to join Trump at a rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Ramaswamy claimed to have called the former president to congratulate him.
Ramaswamy declared, “There has to be an America First candidate in this race.” “Going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency.”
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The lowest caucus turnout in more than 20 years is expected to be 110,000 votes after all are tallied. It seems that fewer people turned out in Iowa during the bitterly cold sub-zero conditions that followed a weekend blizzard.
Centers did point out that Trump’s supporters “were still that motivated to show up.” It illustrates his command over the party, and rapid field consolidation is necessary if any rival hopes to slow him down in this nomination contest. And in New Hampshire, someone ought to put an end to him.”
Rarely does New Hampshire emulate Iowa, as independent and moderate votes are pivotal to the state’s legendary presidential primary.