DES MOINES, Iowa – Former President Donald Trump cruised to an easy victory on Monday night in the Iowa caucuses, the lead off contest in the 2024 Republican presidential nominating calendar.
The Fox News Decision Desk made call for Trump at 8:31pm ET, a half an hour after the caucuses got underway across the Hawkeye State.
The former president’s lightning-fast win in Iowa gives him an early victory in his bid to return to the White House.
Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus site at Horizon Events Center, in Clive, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“I feel great,” Trump told Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman minutes after his victory was called by numerous networks. “I am greatly honored by such an early call.”
“It really is an honor that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won—against very credible competition — great competition, actually,” Trump said.
Trump, who narrowly lost the 2016 Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, assembled a formidable get-out-the-vote machine in the state over the past year.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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The big questions as Monday night unfolds is whether Trump will capture a majority of the vote in the caucuses, or top the largest previous margin of victory by a Republican presidential candidate in the caucuses.
It is still too early to call whether former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will win a distant second place behind Trump.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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