Trump wins 98 of 99 Iowa counties in Monday caucuses

By Timothy H.J. Nerozzi Fox News

Published January 16, 2024 7:13am ESTUpdated January 16, 2024 12:17pm EST

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Former President Donald Trump won 98 out of 99 Iowa counties during Monday’s dominating victory in the Republican caucuses.

The one county that did not go for Trump was Johnson County, where former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley led Trump by one vote with 99% of votes counted. Haley received 1,271 votes, approximately 35.5% of the vote in Johnson County, while Trump received 1,270 votes, according to GOP officials in the state.

Haley finished third statewide behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump pulled in a majority of votes with 51%.

Haley claimed her third-place finish was evidence of momentum when considering polling numbers in upcoming primary states.

GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY BATTLE MOVES ON TO NEW HAMPSHIRE AFTER TRUMP DOMINATES IN IOWA

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, with his wife Kathryn, endorses former President Donald Trump during a campaign event in Indianola, Iowa. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

“When you look at how well we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” Haley said.

QUESTIONS SWIRL ABOUT DESANTIS CAMPAIGN AFTER GOVERNOR LANDS SECOND-PLACE FINISH IN IOWA

Nikki Haley speaks at a caucus night party at the Marriott Hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

DeSantis visited every county and invested significant time and resources in the Hawkeye State, and weeks ago was predicting he would win the caucuses. Recently he had been saying he embraced the underdog role in the state.

“Because of your support, in spite of all of what they threw at us, we got our ticket punched out of Iowa,” DeSantis said in his speech.

DeSantis outperformed some polling expectations on Monday night, finishing at roughly 21% when the Real Clear Politics average of polls showed him at 15.7% before votes were cast.