Trump, backed by 53% of Evangelicals, wins historic 30-point victory in Iowa

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — Despite dangerous record low temperatures and mountains of snow, voting in the first presidential elections in the nation is now complete.

With 99% of the vote counted by 8:30 a.m. Israel time, here are the results of the all-important Iowa caucuses.

• Donald J. Trump — 51% (56,210 votes)

• Ron DeSantis — 21.2% (23,400)

• Nikki Haley — 19.1% (21,076)

• Vivek Ramaswamy — 8.6% (9,531)

COMMANDING VICTORY FOR TRUMP

Earning more than half the vote – a commanding 30-point victory – Trump won the caucuses by the biggest margin in history.

Previously, the largest margin was achieved in 1996 when then-Senator Bob Dole won by 12.8%.

Entrance polls showed that 53% of Iowa Evangelicals backed the former president, grateful for the huge policy victories he delivered in office, including the appointment of three conservative pro-life Justices to the Supreme Court, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a very close alliance with Israel, and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

Trump is expected to walk away with 20 delegates.

DeSantis appeared to earn 8 delegates, while Haley won 7.

“I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together,” Trump said in a magnanimous victory speech at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. “We don’t even know what the outcome of second place is.”

"I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together," Trump added. 

"Whether it's Republican or Democrat, or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together."

RAMASWAMY ENDORSES TRUMP

Vivek Ramaswamy immediately announced he is suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing Trump.

“There is no path for me to be the President, absent things that we don’t want to see happen in this country,” the CEO and entrepreneur said Monday night.

“I am very worried for this country.”

Trump “will have my full endorsement for the presidency.”

Trump quickly accepted the support and praised Ramaswamy.

“He did a hell of a job,” said the former president. “He came from zero, and he has a big percent.”

HALEY BUOYANT, CLOSING GAP WITH TRUMP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 

Both the DeSantis and Haley campaigns vowed to fight on.

New Hampshire voters hold their first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23.

“Thank you, Iowa!” a buoyant Haley immediately wrote on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “You’re faithful, patriotic & hardworking, and I’m grateful to each of you! Now it’s on to New Hampshire, where this campaign is the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden rematch that no one wants. We offer America a better choice.”

The latest polls show Haley rapidly gaining ground in the Granite State, and some political analysts believe she may be able to close the gap even further in the coming days. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR DESANTIS?

It is not clear, however, that DeSantis has a path forward. 

"They threw everything at Ron DeSantis,” a senior DeSantis aide told reporters. “They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation and we will not back down."

DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier blasted the “appalling” decision of most U.S. media outlets to call the race before all votes were cast.

“I personally spoke in multiple precincts and while I’m presenting and delivering the closing argument for Ron DeSantis and actually flipping voters, people start getting alerts on their phones saying the race is over.”

“One guy said, ‘why do we even bother voting, if it’s already over?’ That is absurd.”

True – it was appalling that the networks, AP and Reuters would not wait for the voting to be finished.

But DeSantis is fading in New Hampshire and has little support in South Carolina where Haley was born and raised and served as a popular governor. 

It will be interesting to see what DeSantis and his team say and do in the next few days. 

GINGRICH SAYS RACE IS OVER

That said, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Fox News Monday night that the battle for second place is “irrelevant.” 

“It’s over,” Gingrich insisted. “The people of Iowa want Donald Trump to be president. The American people want Donald Trump to be president. Trump will be the Republican nominee.”

"Trump is not just a candidate,” Gingrich added. “Trump is the leader of a nationwide movement to take back power from the Establishment."

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TOP ISSUE FOR VOTERS

Several TV networks conducted “entrance polls” to learn more about what Iowa voters think about various issues.

For example, 40% of Iowa Republicans said that illegal immigration was their number one issue in deciding whom to vote for, according to CBS News. 

The economy was the top issue for 35% of Iowa voters.

With war raging in Europe and here in the Middle East, foreign policy was the top issue for 11% of Iowa Republicans. 

Abortion was the top issue for another 11% of Iowa Republicans. 

Meanwhile, 64% of Iowa Republicans said Trump would be still fit to be president even if he is convicted of crimes, according to CBS News.

Only 31% said he would not be fit.

LOW TURNOUT

The brutal winter weather did, in fact, drive down turnout.

Only about 115,000 voters showed up at the 1,600-plus precinct sites, down from 187,000 in 2016.