Des Moines, Iowa – Former President Donald Trump easily won the Iowa caucuses on Monday night, the leadoff race on the 2024 Republican presidential nomination calendar.
The Fox News decision desk called President Trump at 8:31 p.m. ET, 30 minutes after caucuses began across the Hawkeye State.
The former president's lightning victory in Iowa provided him with an important early victory in his bid to return to the White House.
“I want to thank the great people of Iowa,” President Trump said in his caucus victory speech in Des Moines, the state capital and largest city.
For live updates on the Iowa caucuses from FOX News, click here
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, January 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
More than two hours after Trump's victory was declared, the Fox News Decision Desk announced that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had won the election over former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. I expected him to come in second place.
“They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us,” DeSantis said in a speech to supporters, citing the onslaught of negative attacks and advertising from his rivals.
“Thanks to your support, we got punched out of Iowa despite everything you threw at us,” he stressed.
Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks with supporters at a caucus night party on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neighborgal) (AP Photo/Charlie Neighborgal)
Ms. Haley addressed her supporters immediately after Ms. DeSantis' speech, and her supporters once again framed the nomination contest as a two-person contest between her and Mr. Trump.
“If you look at where we are in New Hampshire, South Carolina and other places, it's safe to say that Iowa tonight has made this Republican primary a two-person race,” she argued.
Republican presidential candidate and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at the caucus night party at the Marriott Hotel on Monday, January 15, 2024 in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Abby Parr) (AP Photo/Abby Parr)
Vivek Ramaswamy, a billionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate, campaigned relentlessly across Iowa in recent months, but suspended his campaign after falling short of fourth place.
Ramaswamy congratulated Trump over the phone and said he planned to attend a rally with the former president in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
“We need an America-first candidate in this race,” Ramaswamy said. “He will now have my full support for the presidency.”
Republican presidential candidate businessman Vivek Ramaswami speaks at the caucus venue at the Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa, Monday, January 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Trump spoke with Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman after he was predicted to win, saying he was “very honored to have this early call.”
“It was a real honor to be announced a few minutes later that I won against a very credible competitor, in fact, a great competition,” Trump said.
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris Lacivita posted a photo of the former president and his son Donald Trump Jr. giving a thumbs up in front of a Fox News television set backstage at the Iowa campaign's caucus night headquarters. posted on social media. Chiron added, “Trump is projected to win the Iowa caucuses.”
Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but the four indictments, including charges that he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, are among Republican voters. It only increased Trump's support.
And heading into Monday's caucuses, Trump enjoyed a significant lead in Iowa polls and national polls for the Republican nomination.
Mr. Trump's victory on Monday night was the largest margin in Iowa's Republican presidential caucus history, easily surpassing the previous winning margin of 12.8% set in 1988 by the late Sen. Bob Dole.
By late Monday, most of the votes had been counted, giving Trump just over 51% of the vote and a majority of the caucus vote. Rivals and many political commentators had argued that Trump would not be able to live up to expectations unless he received more than 50% of the vote.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College on Sunday, January 14, 2024 in Indianola, Iowa (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Trump, who narrowly lost to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, has built a powerful vote-getting machine in the state over the past year.
Chris Lacivita, a senior adviser to President Trump, emphasized the campaign's focus on volunteer support.
“They know this area well, they know who's caucusing in their area, so we're going to follow up with them so they can vote,” he told Fox News last weekend. told. “We've been focused and focused on people, and we think that's going to pay off in a big way.”
Jimmy Centers, a veteran Iowa-based Republican strategist, told Fox News that Trump “won in every demographic, looking at northwest Iowa, the most conservative part of the state. “If you look at the evangelical voters, he won. If you look at the densely populated suburbs, he won. You.” Look at the rural counties he's visited in recent weeks. He won those counties and won big. ”
“That shows they had a very sophisticated, data-driven operation. They knew where their profits were. They took that profit in the final stretch. We achieved this and increased that number by more than 50%, which is a truly impressive result,” Centers added. A veteran of multiple presidential, gubernatorial and congressional elections, he served as communications director for then-Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and current Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right) takes the microphone after being introduced at an event in West Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, January 13, 2024. On Saturday, January 13, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was also on stage and DeSantis' wife, Casey DeSantis. (AP Photo/Pablo Martínez Monsivais) (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivay)
Mr. DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to President Trump in the Republican race for the White House.
But after a series of campaign setbacks and negative advertising over the summer and fall, Mr. DeSantis saw his support in the polls decline.
Heading into the caucuses, Mr. DeSantis was betting that the arch-field game in Iowa, which relied heavily on his affiliated super PAC Never Back Down, would get him across the finish line.
DeSantis, who has made Iowa a major focus of his White House bid, predicted on “Fox News Sunday” that “we're going to do well on Monday. We have an incredible organization.” .
While people were still voting at many caucus sites across Iowa, the Associated Press and many news networks projected a victory for Trump.
The DeSantis campaign slammed the move, with spokesman Andrew Romeo calling the initial call “absolutely outrageous” and saying, “The media is on Trump's side, and this is the worst thing ever.” This is an example,'' he said.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks to supporters gathered during her final stop before the Iowa Republican caucuses in Newton, Iowa, Monday, January 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Meg Kinard) (AP Photo/Meg Kinard)
Haley, who finished narrowly behind DeSantis, gained momentum in the fall and overtook DeSantis for second place in Iowa polls and national polls in recent weeks.
Eight days after the Iowa caucuses, he surpassed DeSantis and moved into second place in New Hampshire, where the first primary and second-overall race will be held on the Republican nomination calendar, closing the gap with Trump.
Trump, who has repeatedly criticized his rival for months, appeared conciliatory in his victory speech.
“I want to thank Ron and Nikki for a great time together. We're all having a great time together. I think they both did a really good job,” Trump said.
And Ramaswamy said he had done a “great job.”
“They're very smart, very talented people,” Trump added, referring to all three of his rivals.
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