Donald Trump, a former US president, easily prevailed in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, solidifying his position as the front-runner for the Republican nomination to win the White House again in 2024.
In a highly anticipated contest, Trump defeated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley to win the nomination for a third time in a row, CNN reported.
Provisional totals show that Trump secured at least 17 of the 40 delegates, with Haley and DeSantis each securing five. After voting for around thirty minutes, the state-wide competition got underway.
“THANK YOU IOWA, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!” Trump sent a message on Truth Social, his social media network.
DeSantis and Haley want to finish strongly in second place so that fans and contributors will be persuaded to back their challenges to Trump.
DeSantis had concentrated on Iowa, and he would feel more pressure to withdraw if he places third. In New Hampshire, where Republicans will select their nominee eight days later, polls place him well behind Trump and Haley, according to Reuters.
Trump’s resounding win indicates that he will continue to rule the Republican Party despite his escalating legal problems, which include four felony indictments.
According to Al Jazeera, Trump is scheduled to appear in court in New York on Tuesday as a jury deliberates whether to give additional damages to a writer who was awarded $5 million for defamation and sexual assault.
In the state’s first-ever nationwide caucus, Iowans braved potentially fatal temperatures to assemble at over 1,600 schools, community centers, and other locations for the 2024 presidential contest.
Trump is viewed by many Republican supporters in Iowa as the most qualified candidate to handle their issues with the economy, the unprecedented number of migrants and refugees arriving at the southern border, and international instability.
“We require an alternative to what we are now doing. It isn’t functioning. Before the caucuses, 32-year-old Trump supporter David Brunell told Al Jazeera, “I was making more money than I ever have, and now I’m broke than I’ve ever been.”
