Iowa — Former President Donald Trump won the 2024 Iowa Republican Party’s Caucuses by a historic margin. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished a distant second.
Trump finished second in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses with about 24 percent support. He easily won Iowa in the General Election in 2016 and 2020 — and surpassed 51 percent in last (Monday) night’s Caucuses.
Trump called for unity as the race moves forward.
Trump, who called his competitors DeSantis and Haley very smart, capable people, thanked his family and the campaign staff. Trump also singled out Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, the only statewide elected official to endorse him.
Trump won 98 of 99 Iowa counties. He lost Johnson County by one vote. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished with just over 21 percent support — nearly two points ahead of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
DeSantis called the results “marching orders” for his campaign.
The DeSantis campaign accused media outlets of election interference by projecting Donald Trump had won before many Caucus-goers had started voting. Haley also said she was Trump’s main competitor.
After giving a litany of personal thank yous, Haley reflected on spending eleven months in Iowa.
Governor Kim Reynolds, who endorsed DeSantis, says the Iowa Caucus results make it a two-person race — between DeSantis and Trump.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who finished a distant fourth, ended his campaign and endorsed Trump. Jimmy Centers, a communications director for Governor Terry Branstad, says it’s pretty clear Trump is the frontrunner for the GOP’s presidential nomination despite candidates like DeSantis and Haley campaigning in Iowa for the past year.
Centers says unlike 2016, Trump had a record to run on — and that appealed to Caucus-goers.
