Donald Trump secured a resounding victory in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa on Monday, asserting his dominance over the party despite a litany of legal troubles as he seeks a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished well behind in second place, Edison Research projected, edging out former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as they battle to emerge as the chief alternative to Trump.
Trump was poised to win 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 even though he faces four criminal indictments.
"THANK YOU IOWA, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!" Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
With nearly 90% of the expected vote tallied, Trump had 50.9%, while DeSantis was at 21.4% and Haley 19.0%, according to Edison. The largest margin of victory for an Iowa Republican caucus had been 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy ended his long-shot presidential bid after earning just under 8% of the vote on Monday and endorsed Trump in a speech to supporters.
It was too early to say whether Trump would exceed 50%, a psychological figure that would further weaken his rivals' argument that his march to the nomination can be derailed.
Both DeSantis and Haley had been aiming for a strong second-place finish to convince donors and supporters that their challenges to Trump remain viable.
