Trump Wins Historic Iowa Caucus Victory
(Radio Iowa) Former President Donald Trump won the 2024 Iowa Republican Party’s Caucuses by a historic margin. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished a distant second. “I want to thank everybody. This has been some period of time and most importantly we want to thank the great people of Iowa. Thank you we love you all. What a turnout, what a crowd,” he said.
Trump finished second in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses with about 24 percent support. He easily won Iowa in the General Election in 2016 and 2020 — and surpassed 51 percent in last (Monday) night’s Caucuses. “This has been an incredible experience. The people have been, this a third time we’ve won. But this is the biggest one,” Trump said to cheers. “…They said, ‘well, if you win by 12 percent that’s a big win. That’s going to be very hard to do.’ Well, I think we’ve more than doubled that. I guess it tripled that maybe.”
Trump called for unity as the race moves forward. “I really think this is time now for everybody, our country to come together. We want to come together,” Trump says. “Whether it’s Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that we’re witnessing.” Trump, who called his competitors DeSantis and Haley very smart, capable people, thanked his family and the campaign staff.
Trump also singled out Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, the only statewide elected official to endorse him. “She stepped up. She’s going to be your governor someday I predict so we’ll see. We’ll be watching, but she really did,” he says. “She broke away from the pack and she had tremendous courage.”
Trump won 98 of 99 Iowa counties. He lost Johnson County by one vote. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished with just over 21 percent support — nearly two points ahead of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.