US election 2024
Media: Trump wins Iowa Republican primary
The Republican primary in the state of Iowa ushered in the tense US election year. Former President Donald Trump scored a victory in the first Republican primary for the party’s US presidential nomination. photo
© Andrew Harnik/AP
Iowa is considered the first test balloon for the US Republicans in the presidential election campaign. Not surprisingly, Trump is now prevailing here. However, the vote was unusual due to the extreme cold.
In the first Republican primary election for the party’s US presidential nomination, the former President Donald Trump won. The television channels CNN, Fox News and CBS reported this unanimously in the evening (local time), citing their own forecasts. Trump’s victory was expected. The 77-year-old was leading in polls by a wide margin, ahead of former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The fact that he won the race so early in the evening came as a surprise.
In the USA, the party base determines its candidate for the presidential election. The primary election voting process is complex and varies from state to state. The start of the Iowa Republican primaries heralds the election year. The actual presidential election will finally take place on November 5th. Iowa is numerically of little importance for the candidate selection. But those who do well in the small Midwestern state can expect a tailwind in future votes.
Extreme cold in the US state of Iowa
The decision was not made at polling stations, but at small party meetings, so-called caucus meetings. They took place in very different places in extreme cold. Despite temperatures of minus 20 degrees and more, Republican supporters came together in churches or community halls to vote for their favorite.
A winter storm affected the election campaign at the weekend – a number of campaign appearances were canceled. The storm was then followed by extreme cold, with the weather service warning of “life-threatening” conditions.
Haley the DeSantis: Who comes in second?
Surveys had consistently seen Trump as the favorite in the vote. He is far ahead of his internal party colleagues. It will be interesting to see how strong Trump’s result is in Iowa in the end and who comes in second. This was not initially clear.
The former president is facing four criminal charges in the middle of the election campaign – including because of his campaign against his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. But that has not yet changed the Republican’s popularity in his party. Trump lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden. To this day he does not acknowledge his defeat, but continues to spread lies that he was deprived of a victory through massive electoral fraud.
For the Democrats, the primary election procedure is a little different this year. The race for them is also considered a foregone conclusion. Incumbent Biden wants to move into the White House again for his party. The 81-year-old has no serious competition in his party.