Following the decisive defeat of Florida Governor DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley by former President Donald Trump, it would be reasonable to anticipate that reporters would enumerate the numerous “lessons” that emerged from the Iowa caucuses. The term “five” was the most frequently used descriptor. For example, the Des Moines Register, a prominent newspaper in the state of Iowa, published an article titled “5 Things We Learned from Donald Trump’s Landslide Victory in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses.”
The weather conditions on Monday were particularly inclement. In a report for the Des Moines Register, Nicole Fallert wrote under the headline “The coldest caucuses in Iowa history.”
Iowans experienced life-threatening wind chills as low as minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the state is under a windchill warning into Tuesday.
Consequently, the number of participants was approximately 110,000, a figure that contrasts with the nearly 187,000 individuals who participated in 2016. However, given the temperatures, the turnout was remarkable.
The outcome was highly favorable for Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump was victorious in 98 of Iowa’s 99 counties, garnering 51% of the vote. Mr. DeSantis placed second with 21% of the vote, while Ms. Haley received 19%. Trump “won men, women, older voters, and younger voters, and improved upon his 2016 performance with all of these groups,” according to ABC News.
The New York Times published an article entitled “5 Takeaways From Trump’s Runaway Victory in the Iowa Caucuses.” Nate Cohn, the New York Times’ Chief Political Analyst, posited that
Not only did he win in a landslide anyway, but his 30-point margin of victory set a record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus.
Better still for Trump, neither DeSantis nor Haley posted a strong second-place showing that might have bestowed clear momentum for future races. If anything, DeSantis’s second-place finish might dampen Haley’s momentum heading into New Hampshire.
The state of Iowa will be allotted 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention. (The number of delegates is divided among the candidates.)
The Catholic Vote reported that New Hampshire, whose January 23 primary is the next scheduled contest, contains only 22 delegates. In the meantime, 874 delegates are scheduled to be awarded on March 5, which has been designated as “Super Tuesday.” This is the day on which primaries are scheduled in several additional states with larger populations.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
