Former US president Donald Trump confirmed his status as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination with an overwhelming victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night.
It was clear less than 30 minutes after the precinct votes came in from the 99 counties that the advance projections were accurate.
Mr Trump took 51 per cent of the vote. His main rivals, Florida governor Ron DeSantis (21 per cent) and Nikki Haley (19 per cent), the former ambassador to the United Nations, commanded sufficient numbers to carry their campaigns and arguments into the upcoming states but could do nothing to substantiate their argument that they offer an alternative to American Republicans.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old entrepreneur who had cast himself as a fervent Trump admirer with an untarnished record, announced he was suspending his campaign before the final votes were counted.
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Fears that the bitterly cold snap which has gripped the Midwest would reduce voting numbers were borne out. Despite the intense spotlight placed on Iowa, the reality of the voting activity through the rural states does not reflect the general population. Of the 3.1 million Iowans, just 110,000 registered a vote at their local precinct.
Remarkably, Mr Trump had carried 98 of the 99 counties by that stage, with only Johnson county in the balance as the lights went out across the state. Iowa holds just 40 delegates of the 1,215 a candidate needs to ultimately win the Republican nomination. But perception is everything.
The vast sums of money and time and energy each of the leading candidates invest in Iowa reflect the power of projection the state possesses on the national psyche.
It took a mere 30 minutes last night for most of the major networks to confirm that Iowa 2024 was, as the banners proclaimed, ‘Trump Country’.
He took to the podium at his hotel quarters long before the counting had finished, relaxed and smiling. Perhaps the only true surprise of the night was the appeasing nature of his remarks towards his rivals, in vivid contrast to his caustic critiques in the closing week.
“Well I want to thank everyone, this has been some period of time and most importantly I want to thank the great people of Iowa. What a turnout. What a crowd.
“And I really think this is time now for our country to come together, whether it is Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative; it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out of all the death and destruction we are witnessing. I want to make that a big part of our message. It’s gonna happen soon too,” Mr Trump said.
“Ron and Nikki for having ... we are all having a good time together. I think they both actually did very well. We don’t even know what the outcome of second place is. And I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did an amazing job. They all did. They are all smart people, capable people.”
In the meandering year-long build-up to these few hours of voting, Mr Trump ran a campaign that was typically unorthodox and shrewd, solidly building a groundswell of support across the state while effectively ignoring his Republican rivals, declining to take part in official debates and behaving as though he were the incumbent party candidate.
[ Caucus night in Iowa: Republican race for White House starts with 13 strangers in a room ]
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Within the landslide votes lay further evidence of his spreading base of support: his support among Iowa college graduates was higher than any of the other candidates at 36 per cent. According to polls, some 70 per cent of those who voted for Mr Trump did not believe that president Joe Biden legitimately won the election in 2022.
None of the difficulties facing the former president deterred his Iowa support base from giving him a mandate that mirrored his grip on the Republican mindset.
Of the remaining candidates, Mr DeSantis could at least claim his vote had defied the bleak polling suggestions that he would be eclipsed by Ms Haley. His return gave him the opportunity to claim that his campaign had its “ticket punched” by the Iowan Republican electorate.
But his labour-intensive, repeated tours of the more remote outposts in the state convinced just over 23,000 voters to make him their first choice.
Sioux County, flush against the border with Nebraska and a evangelical Christian stronghold, was one of the 99 on which Mr DeSantis had lobbied heavily but as the results came it mirrored the forecasts that Mr Trump had captured that segment of the electorate. The population there is just under 36,000; of those who turned out on Monday night, 964 voted for Mr Trump, 667 voted for Mr DeSantis.
The DeSantis campaign has elected not to campaign in New Hampshire ahead of the Republican primary that takes place on Tuesday week, concentrating instead on making an impression in South Carolina, which will hold its primary on February 3rd.
Ms Haley is banking on a making a strong impression in New Hampshire, but the momentum the Trump campaign takes from Iowa will be further bolstered by an endorsement from Mr Ramaswamy and a transference of his support.
After celebrating on Monday night, Mr Trump is expected to attend the defamation trial in which a Manhattan jury will decide how much to award writer E Jean Carroll after she accused him, in a 2019 magazine article, of raping her.
The former president indicated his intention of testifying at the court procedure. Ms. Carroll is seeking $10 million (€9 million) in damages.
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