Key things to know from the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses
Former President Donald Trump won Iowa’s leadoff presidential caucuses on Monday night, giving him a strong start in the leadup to the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished in second place over former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
The contest will next move to New Hampshire, which votes next week.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the Iowa caucuses:
Trump dominates among Republicans
Eric Trump, executive vice president of Trump Organization Inc., from left, former US President Donald Trump, and Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions for Trump Organization Inc., at a caucus night watch party in
Trump scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses, with his rivals finishing far behind, according to the Associated Press.
Those who voted delivered a roughly 30-point win for Trump that smashed the record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus with a margin of victory exceeding Bob Dole's nearly 13-percentage-point victory in 1988, the AP reported.
DeSantis finished just ahead of Haley, but trailed Trump by about 30 points.
The results left Trump with a tighter grip on the GOP nomination, and his victory posing significant questions for both DeSantis and Haley. Neither candidate appeared poised to exit the race, though they left Iowa struggling to claim making much progress in trying to become Trump’s strongest challenger.
Trump traveled sparingly to Iowa in the leadup to the caucuses, holding a modest number of rallies. He declined to participate in candidate debates and instead chose to appear at court hearings as a defendant in his legal cases in New York and Washington rather than speak to Iowa voters in the final days before the voting.
Vivek Ramaswamy ends his 2024 bid
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy ended his 2024 Republican presidential campaign on Monday night following a distant fourth finish in Iowa’s caucuses and endorsed Trump.
Ramaswamy had previously called Trump the "best president of the 21st century" even as he tried to convince Republican voters that they should opt for "fresh legs" and "take our America First agenda to the next level."
New Hampshire is different from Iowa
As clear-cut as Trump’s win was, Iowa has not historically played the role of kingmaker in the Republican nominating process, according to the Associated Press.
New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Tuesday, Jan. 23, has famously delivered upsets for both parties.
Former President George W. Bush felt New Hampshire’s sting in 2000 when Senator John McCain defeated him. So did former vice president Walter Mondale when Senator Gary Hart of Colorado scored an upset in the Democratic race in 1984.
With its more moderate, educated electorate, New Hampshire presents Trump’s rivals with possibly their best opportunity to slow his march. Haley is hoping for a win there or at least a very strong showing, as is DeSantis.
After New Hampshire, the next major competitive race is in South Carolina on Feb. 24.
In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 8 is scheduled to hear arguments in a case challenging whether a constitutional clause banning those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office applies to Trump. The high court may also weigh in on whether presidential immunity protects Trump from federal charges for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss.
The criminal trial, in that case, is scheduled to start on March 5 — Super Tuesday — when 14 states vote in the presidential nominating process. Trump’s strength among Republican voters is beyond dispute, but the road could be bumpy.
Dangerously cold temps and low turnout in Iowa
In what was the lowest-turnout caucus in a quarter-century, participants endured life-threatening cold and dangerous driving conditions to meet in hundreds of schools, churches and community centers across the state.
According to the National Weather Service, it was the coldest first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on record.
Temperatures dipped to minus 3 degrees in Des Moines, with the wind chill making it feel far colder.
RELATED: What does the wind chill mean and how long can it take to get frostbite?
Trump’s Iowa victory speech
Having repeatedly vowed vengeance against his political opponents in recent months, Trump offered a message of unity in his victory speech on Monday night.
"We want to come together, whether it’s Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative," he said, according to the AP. "We’re going to come together. It’s going to happen soon."
This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.