Big Iowa triumph puts Trump in pole position for Biden rematch
DONALD Trump secured a big win in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa on Monday, asserting his command over the party despite facing scores of criminal charges as he seeks an election rematch with President Joe Biden.
Trump took over half the votes, propelling him towards what looks set to be a close and deeply acrimonious election campaign against Biden, a Democrat, in November.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, finished well behind Trump in second place in Iowa, edging out former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, 51, as they both failed to emerge as the chief opponent.
Trump, 77, the only current or former US president to be charged with criminal activity, won by an unprecedented margin for an Iowa Republican contest, strengthening his case that his nomination is a foregone conclusion given his massive lead in national polls.
Trump garnered 51 percent, DeSantis 21 percent and Haley 19 percent, with 99 percent of the expected vote tallied, Edison Research said. That victory margin far surpassed the previous record of 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988.
"THANK YOU IOWA, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!" Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He is hoping to fast-track the normally months-long Republican selection process with a series of convincing early primary wins to force out his rivals.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy ended his long-shot presidential bid after winning just under 8 percent of the vote on Monday, and he endorsed Trump.
The candidates immediately move on to New Hampshire. The state’s more moderate Republicans will choose their nominee next Tuesday and polls show
Trump with a smaller lead over Haley there, and DeSantis far behind.
Trump’s performance showed his enduring popularity among Republican voters even after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters and his 91 criminal charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election, retaining classified documents after leaving the White House and falsifying records over hush money payments to a porn star.
Trump has used his legal travails to fundraise and boost his support as he protests his innocence and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt.”
Iowans braved life-threatening temperatures to gather at schools, community centers and other sites for the state's first-in-the-nation caucus, as the 2024 presidential campaign officially got under way after months of debates and rallies.
(Reuters)