Trump bests competitors in 98 of Iowa's 99 counties; Hutchinson drops out after dismal showing



Former President Donald Trump crushed the competition, beating rivals in 98 of 99 counties during the Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa on Monday. In the single county where Trump lost, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley edged him out by just one vote, results currently indicate.

But as massive as Trump's victory was, it paled in comparison to former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson's dismal performance. He earned less than 200 votes in the Hawkeye State, results currently indicate.

Hutchinson has announced that he is dropping out of the nominating contest.

"I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support. Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas," he said in a statement. "My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa."

The Iowa delegates are awarded proportionally based on how much of the vote each candidate gets.

Author and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who earned less than 8% in the contest, dropped out and endorsed Trump.

While Trump had already been leading in the polls prior to the Iowa caucuses, the massive victory appears to confirm Trump's frontrunner status in the GOP nominating contest.

Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are still vying for the Republican presidential nod. Last year, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed DeSantis while New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Haley.

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DeSantis camp says media called Iowa GOP presidential caucus for Trump before some people had voted



Former President Donald Trump decisively won the Iowa Republican presidential caucus on Monday, but the camp of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said that the media called the race for Trump before some Iowans had even voted yet.

"I spoke before approx 400 Iowans today at a caucus site and DeSantis won. However, they were getting news alerts of a 'trump victory' before speeches concluded or voting began. The media wants to taint this process and it's sad for America. Wake up everyone," James Uthmeier tweeted.

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The Hill reported that a spokesperson for the Never Back Down super PAC claimed that while Florida first lady Casey DeSantis was talking at a caucus precinct, attendees began getting alerts that Trump had won the Iowa contest.

"Same thing happened to me. Zero votes had been cast, I hadn’t even given my speech, and the corporate media was calling the race via push notifications," Jeremy Redfern tweeted.

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"At the site where @RonDeSantis was speaking in Dubuque, people were still waiting to be checked in when the media started making calls. No one had even voted. It's extremely disrespectful to the voters," Bryan Griffin tweeted.

According to the Associated Press, with 95% of the vote in, Trump had earned 51% while DeSantis had a bit more than 21%, Nikki Haley had a little over 19%, and Vivek Ramaswamy was a little under 8%. After the caucus, Ramaswamy announced that he was endorsing Trump.

Iowa's 40 delegates will be divided among GOP candidates based on the proportion of the caucus vote that they win.

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Trump wins Iowa Republican presidential caucus



Former President Donald Trump won the Iowa Republican presidential caucus on Monday as voters braved frigid temperatures to participate in the first contest of the 2024 GOP presidential nominating process.

The state's 40 delegates will be divided among the candidates based on the proportion of the statewide vote that they earned, which means that those who failed to win can still pick up some delegates.

Iowans could register to vote or switch their party affiliation to Republican on caucus day and vote in the contest, according to the Associated Press.

Prior to the contest on Monday, polling indicated that Trump had a large lead in the Hawkeye State over rival Republicans.

Trump, who won the 2016 presidential election but lost in 2020, did not participate in any of the four Republican National Committee-affiliated GOP presidential primary debates last year. Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley faced off during a CNN debate in Des Moines, but Trump, who had also qualified for that debate, did a Fox News town hall in Des Moines.

Last year, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed DeSantis while New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Haley. The New Hampshire GOP presidential primary next week will mark the second contest in the 2024 GOP presidential nominating process.

Trump has scored scads of endorsements from Republican figures. For example, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who mounted a GOP presidential primary bid but ultimately dropped out last year, and GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah have both endorsed Trump.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has announced an anti-endorsement of Haley, declaring himself "never Nikki," and saying, "I don't think any informed or knowledgeable libertarian or conservative should support Nikki Haley."

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