Former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump has won a resounding victory at the first Republican primary of the 2024 presidential race.
Trump took home three times more delegates than his closest opponent and also got over 50% of the popular vote.
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At the Iowa caucus held on Monday, Donald Trump barely failed to sweep the entire counties, losing just one out the state’s 99 counties – reportedly by a single vote.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won Johnson County with 1,271 votes, approximately 35.5% of the vote. Trump received 1,270 votes, according to GOP officials in the state.
Official GOP report showed that former President Trump won 56,260 votes, 51.0% of the counted and approved 110,298 votes.
Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis got 21.2% of the vote (23,420), while former Nikki Haley got 19.1% (21,085) of the votes.
Fox News reported that Nikki Haley’s third-place was evidence of momentum when considering polling numbers in upcoming primary states.
“When you look at how well we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” Haley said.
Self-funding entrepreneur, Vivek Ramaswamy came in forth with 8,449 votes representing 7.7% of the votes. Hours after the Iowa caucus, THE 38-year-old entrepreneur and political newcomer dropped out of the race for the Republican White House nomination.
The former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie pulled only 35 votes in Iowa.
Since 1972, Iowa – traditionally seen as a Republican stronghold – has been the first state in the US to hold its caucus in advance of the election and its results are often interpreted as a sign of how other states might sway ahead of November’s election. The candidates will head to New Hampshire for the next round of voting, with Trump expected to hold a rally in the state after attending a court hearing in New York.
To win the Republican nomination, a presidential candidate needs 1,215 delegates. Former President Donald Trump leads the race to the nomination with 20 delegates, followed by Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley with 9 and 8 delegates respectively.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
