Does Trump's record-setting win in Iowa pave way to White House?
For months, polling showed Donald Trump with an overwhelming and unprecedented lead in Iowa. On caucus night, that lead turned into a record-setting victory.
Trump finished as the far-and-away frontrunner with 51% of the vote. His rivals trailed far behind, with Ron DeSantis finishing in second with 21% of the vote. Nikki Haley finished in third with 19%, and Ramaswamy earned 8% of the vote.
The former president's landslide win is also historic. The previous record for largest margin of victory in a competitive contest was set in 1988 by Republican candidate Bob Dole.
That year, Dole won by 12.8 percentage points. On Monday night, Trump won by 30 points.
Trump's record-breaking win also came after a nontraditional Iowa campaign strategy. He visited the state far less than his rivals, who poured time and money into frequent visits to the state and hundreds of town halls and in-person campaign events.
Instead, the former president split time between the campaign trail and the courtroom as he faces four criminal indictments.
"Ninety-one criminal counts, everything from conspiring to overturn the [2020] election to lying to federal investigators, have been filed against him," political analyst Marc Sandalow said. "He's had tens of millions of dollars in ads aimed against him in Iowa."
Sandalow said Iowa gave the first test of how Republicans feel about the former president - and whether he's electable despite the criminal charges and negative attention.
"After all of that, when Iowa republicans spoke, he won not by 20 percentage points, but by 30 percentage points. I think last night confirmed that Donald Trump is firmly in control of this race," Sandalow said.
Iowa kicked off the process of picking a Republican nominee. Candidates now head to New Hampshire, then on to South Carolina, and there likely won't be an official winner for months.
Sandalow said Trump could cement himself as his party's pick to take on Joe Biden if he repeats his resounding caucus win.
"If Trump repeats in New Hampshire next week what he did last night in Iowa, this race is very close to over," Sandalow said.
Nikki Haley speaks in Des Moines after third-place finish in Iowa caucuses
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks in Des Moines after finishing second in Iowa caucuses