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Donald Trump clearly wins the primary election in Iowa, putting a big exclamation point at the start of the election year. The competition in the race for the Republican presidential nomination is far behind.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis surprisingly comes in second. He consistently trailed third-place Nikki Haley in the polls. The former US ambassador to the UN missed the opportunity to benefit from the fact that another candidate, Chris Christie, withdrew from the anti-Trump camp shortly before the caucus in Iowa.
DeSantis behind Trump
Nikki Haley is already looking ahead to the next primary in New Hampshire, where she is predicted to do significantly better than Ron DeSantis, and to the third primary in South Carolina, where she was governor for six years. But for now, Ron DeSantis has the psychological advantage on his side in this head-to-head race as Donald Trump’s primary challenger. Maybe it’s the push DeSantis needs to get his campaign going.
After the midterm elections a year ago, Ron DeSantis was hyped and was one of the winners. Not only was he clearly confirmed as governor, but he also claimed to have turned the former swing state of Florida into a Republican stronghold. Many already saw him as the future president.
Trump is gaining popularity
Overall, the Republicans did worse than expected in the midterm elections and critical voices were raised that blamed Donald Trump for the various investigations that were underway against him in connection with the storming of the Capitol, the attempt to overturn the 2020 election results and the handling of secret documents.
Donald Trump’s supposed low point followed in March 2023. He was the first former president in US history to be criminally charged. But from that moment on, his poll numbers rose and additional donations flowed. Three more criminal indictments followed during the year, and after each, Donald Trump continued to gain popularity.
Since Donald Trump also has numerous civil lawsuits on his hands, he has been shuttling back and forth between the campaign stages and courtrooms in recent weeks. He also knew how to use the court summonses to advertise himself and portray himself as a victim of the justice system.
Trump leads race
What had been apparent has now happened in the first primary election in Iowa. There will be no way around Donald Trump and the race for the Republican presidential nomination could be decided sooner than expected. That would be entirely in line with Donald Trump’s wishes if he were practically determined to be the winner before a single criminal trial has even begun.