Last night, former President Donald Trump held on to his number one position in the Republican primary field. He won all but one of Iowa’s 99 counties. It was not without controversy. Trump opponents were incensed that The Associated Press and other outlets called the race minutes into the start of the caucuses, even before some of the caucus goers in the bigger caucuses cast their ballots. They described getting mobile alerts calling Trump the winner before surrogates had a chance to finish their speeches. Cries of “election interference” were instantly posted on X.
Ron DeSantis
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis edged out former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to finish second in the Iowa caucuses, all but ensuring that the Florida governor will continue campaigning at least until next week’s Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary. Eking a win was not his goal. DeSantis spent millions in the Hawkeye State, visited all 99 counties and cultivated the endorsements of popular Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting his candidacy, also spent more than nine months building a ground game and appointing 1,600 precinct captains across the state. He even had Congressman Tom Massie (R-KY) stumping for him on the night.
The question now is can he recover? In most polls, DeSantis is running a distant third in New Hampshire, leaving questions as to what his strategy is in staying in the race.
Nikki Hayley
Nimarata Nikki Haley widely lost, winning in just one county, Johnson County, which is home to the University of Iowa, and by the closest margin possible, just one vote, supplied by a Democrat who changed party status on the day in order to vote against Donald Trump.
Nikki Haley is making a push but she’s getting all BlackRock and all the big corporations behind her. A lot of the Democrats are even pushing Nikki Haley because they see their guy can’t make it, Joe Biden. And so, they’re pushing Nikki Haley. Nikki Haley — she is a neocon. She has never seen a war she didn’t like. Joe Biden has got us on the verge of a world war but Nikki Haley, if she were to get in, she would just continue all of that. But she is not going to be our nominee. Donald Trump is going to be it.
Senator Tommy Tuberville
She has since announced that she will not participate in the two upcoming GOP primary debates in New Hampshire saying, “The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”
The former South Carolina governor announced the news on social media, saying the next time she debates she will be on stage beside Joe Biden or Donald Trump, who has skipped all five Republican primary debates.
Vivek Ramaswarmy
Following his poor third place performance in the caucuses, Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy announced he is suspending his presidential campaign. Ramaswamy said he wants an America First president in the White House and offered former President Donald Trump his endorsement.
This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 16, 2024
President Trump thanked Ramaswarmy after he conceded and endorsed him, “Thank you Vivek, a Great Honor!”, he posted on Truth Social.