First media forecasts
Trump wins Iowa Republican primary
January 16, 2024, 2:46 a.m
Former President Trump achieved success in the first Republican primary election for the party’s US presidential nomination. This is reported by the television channels CNN and Fox News, citing their own forecasts. His victory was expected, but the fact that it was confirmed so early came as a surprise.
Former US President Donald Trump is predicted to have won the first Republican presidential primary. US channels CNN and CBS predicted Trump’s victory over former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis less than an hour after voting began in the state of Iowa.
Trump’s victory was expected. The 77-year-old was leading polls by a large margin over his competitors. The fact that he won the race so early in the evening came as a surprise. It will be interesting to see how strong Trump’s result is in Iowa in the end and who comes in second. This was not initially clear.
In the USA, the party base determines its candidate for the presidential election. The primary election voting process is complex and varies from state to state. The start of the Iowa Republican primaries heralds the election year. The actual presidential election will finally take place on November 5th.
Meetings in churches and community halls
Iowa is numerically of little importance for the candidate selection. But those who do well in the small Midwestern state can expect a tailwind in future votes. The decision was not made at polling stations, but at small party meetings, so-called caucus meetings. They took place on Monday evening (local time) in very different locations in extreme cold. Despite temperatures of minus 20 degrees, Republican supporters gathered in churches or community halls to vote for their favorite. A winter storm affected the election campaign at the weekend – a number of campaign appearances were canceled. The storm was then followed by extreme cold, with the weather service warning of “life-threatening” conditions.
The former president is facing four criminal charges in the middle of the election campaign – including because of his campaign against his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. But that has not yet changed the Republican’s popularity in his party. Trump lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden. To this day he does not acknowledge his defeat, but continues to spread lies that he was deprived of a victory through massive electoral fraud.
For the Democrats, the primary election procedure is a little different this year. The race for them is also considered a foregone conclusion. Incumbent Biden wants to move into the White House again for his party. The 81-year-old has no serious competition in his party.