EXPLAINER

Trump wins decisive victory in the first major caucus of the US presidential election campaign, cementing his status as the front-runner.

The race for the 2024 US presidential election began with the Republican caucus on Monday in Iowa.

Former US President Donald Trump decided won the caucus ballot and will now head into next week’s New Hampshire primary with a commanding lead over his rivals. Trump also secured the support of his opponent Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped his bid after a disappointing defeat.

In primaries and caucuses, Republicans and Democrats select their presidential candidate. Most US states hold primaries, while some traditionally Republican states, such as Iowa, hold caucuses to elect delegates. The delegates elected in primaries and election meetings vote on the nomination of the party candidate at the respective party conferences. The Republican National Convention is in July.

Here’s what you need to know about the results and highlights.

Results

Trump cemented his status as the Republican Party’s front-runner with 51 percent of the vote. Trump likely received strong support from the key voting blocs in the caucus – white evangelicals and very conservative voters.

Trump’s margin was the largest of any election in Iowa, surpassing the previous record of 12.8 percentage points for Bob Dole in 1988.

His victory comes despite mounting legal challenges Fees such as Conspiracy to overturn the 2020 US elections.

According to preliminary figures, Trump secured at least 20 delegates out of 40, while his nearest challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, got eight, followed by Nikki Haley with seven.

DeSantis received more than 21 percent of the vote, while Haley came in just behind him with about 21 percent of the vote. Ramaswamy received only about 8 percent of the vote and won three delegates.

Ramaswamy suspends presidential candidacy

After his disappointing result, the entrepreneur announced that he would end his presidential campaign.

He supported his rival Trump, whom he had previously called “the best president of the 21st century.”

Ramaswamy, a political outsider, modeled his campaign similar to Trump with Making headlines Statements, unorthodox policy proposals and admonitions from his opponents.

“I’m more like Trump in 2015 than Trump today is like Trump in 2015,” Ramaswamy said an interview with British podcast host Russell Brand in August 2023.

Weather

This year’s Iowa caucus is said to be the coldest on record amid low temperatures and winter storms.

The temperature in Des Moines was just -22 degrees Celsius (-7.6 degrees Fahrenheit) Monday night, well below the 2004 Iowa caucus when it dropped to nearly -9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees Fahrenheit).

The caucus itself requires a long period of participation, as voters first had to gather in the assigned precincts at 7 p.m. local time and then proceed to debate the candidates’ options.

Turn out

The bitter cold during the Iowa caucus may have hurt voter turnout, as turnout was the lowest in more than a decade.

Edison Research estimated Monday night’s turnout at 115,000 — down from 186,657 in 2016. This was also less than the 121,503 voters in 2012 and 119,207 voters in 2008.

What’s next?

The next Republican presidential primary will be January 23 in New Hampshire.

The state will elect 22 delegates to represent it at the Republican convention.