Iowa caucus: Trump wins big, DeSantis comes second, Vivek Ramaswamy ends presidential campaign

Photo Courtesy: GPA Photo Archive

In the first Republican primary of the electoral cycle in Iowa, former President Donald Trump won 51% of the vote, a record 30 points ahead of Florida state governor Ron DeSantis and 32 points ahead of former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

One of the most critical states for candidates as the first caucus, Iowa has cemented Trump’s status as the Republican frontrunner. However, a life-threatening cold of -37 degrees Celsius on the day of the caucuses led to record low voter turnout and skewed political demographics. Polling sponsored by CNN found that 52% of voters described themselves as “very conservative” (as opposed to 40% in 2016) and only 9% as “moderate” (as opposed to 14% in 2016).

Winning 8% of the vote, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race after briefly disrupting the political landscape with his headline-grabbing 10 Commandments and inflammatory remarks. Ramaswamy officially endorsed Donald Trump later that night, saying that “there needs to be an America First candidate” and situating himself and Trump as the only such candidates. Despite their mutual insults towards each other, Ramaswamy has indicated that he would be interested in the vice presidency under Trump.

In his victory speech, Trump began by emphasizing the need for political unity, saying it would be “so nice if [Americans] could come together and straighten out the world…” He thanked his family, giving a momentary, emotional nod to his mother-in-law who had passed away on 9 January, and praised his staff, saying, “the group of people that we have on the stage is just emblematic of the tremendous group that we have” (notably, the group was predominantly white and male). Trump also used his speech to reiterate claims that America faces an “invasion” of people from “prisons and jails…and insane asylums” and to call for hardline diplomacy with Russia, China, and Iran.

DeSantis and Haley remain closely tied as the alternative to Trump, which is likely only to bolster Trump’s campaign. But each pledged to continue their campaign, leaving the three candidates vying for the Republican nominee.