Former US President Donald Trump decisively won the Iowa caucuses on Monday, cementing his position as the Republican front-runner as he seeks to retake the White House in 2024.
Trump clinched his third straight presidential nomination by defeating former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a widely anticipated election, CNN reported.
Trump won at least 17 of the 40 delegates, with Haley and DeSantis taking five each, according to preliminary figures. The nationwide contest began about 30 minutes after voting began.
“THANK YOU IOWA I LOVE YOU ALL!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
DeSantis and Haley are seeking a strong second-place finish to convince donors and supporters of their challenges to Trump.
DeSantis has his sights set on Iowa, and a third-place finish could increase the pressure to end his bid. Polls show him trailing Trump and Haley in New Hampshire, where Republicans will choose their nominee eight days later, Reuters reported.
Trump’s commanding victory shows his continued dominance of the Republican Party even as he faces mounting legal challenges, including four criminal charges.
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Trump is scheduled to appear in court in New York on Tuesday when a jury decides whether to pay additional damages to a writer who won a $5 million jury award for sexual assault and defamation, Al Jazeera reported.
Iowans braved life-threatening temperatures to gather at more than 1,600 schools, community centers and other venues for the nation’s first state convention as the 2024 presidential campaign officially kicked off after months of debates, rallies and ads.
Many Republican voters in Iowa identified Trump as the best candidate to address their concerns about the economy, record numbers of refugees and migrants at the southern border and global instability.
“We need something different than what we are doing now. It does not work. I’ve been making more money than I’ve ever had and now I’m broke than I’ve ever been,” Trump supporter David Brunell, 32, told Al Jazeera before the rally.
