Donald Trump is projected to win the Iowa caucuses in a crushing victory over GOP rivals Gov. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.
The historic landslide came despite Arctic temperatures and the Hawkeye State being battered by blizzards that were expected to decimate turnout.
It gives Trump a massive boost as he seeks to win the Republican presidential nomination and return to the White House in what would be the most remarkable political comeback in U.S. history.
Fox News and CNN both called the race just 33 minutes after polls opened, and after only 319 votes had been counted.
The early call sparked outrage from the rest of the Republican field, with DeSantis’ campaign accusing the news networks of being involved in ‘election interference’.
Thousands of die-hard Iowans braved wind chills as low as minus 35 degrees and ignored frostbite warnings to head to their precincts to cast their votes.
Donald Trump is projected to win the Iowa caucuses in a crushing victory over GOP rivals Gov. Ron DeSantis , Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy
The former president, 77, holds a thumb’s up with son Don Jr. next to a TV screen showing Fox News projecting him to win the race
‘I feel great,’ Trump told Fox News. ‘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 credibly competition, great competition, actually…it is a tremendous thing and a tremendous feeling.’
By 9pm Eastern time, with still only a fraction of all votes counted, Trump was on 57 percent, 40 points ahead of Haley and DeSantis.
It had been clear on the ground that Iowans were most excited about voting for Trump, rather than the other candidates.
His supporters were willing to spend hours outside in below-zero temperatures to see him at a Sunday rally in Indianola after he had to cancel three other Iowa rallies over the weekend due to severe winter weather.
Trump packed venues all over the state – often needing overflow space to fit his crowds.
Shortly before he was named the winner Trump addressed supporters at a caucus site in Des Moines where he was was greeted with raucous cheers and applause,
He told them: ‘I would appreciate your vote. I think I deserve it. We were a great nation three years ago and today people are laughing at us.
‘We did a job like frankly nobody has done in a long, long time. We didn’t have terrorists. We didn’t have people pouring into our country. We didn’t have an invasion where people are pouring in and coming in from prisons all over the world, from mental institutions and insane asylums all over the world. We have terrorists coming in now.’
People arrive at the Franklin Jr. High caucus site for the Iowa Caucus vote in Des Moines, Iowa. The state has been gripped by an Arctic blast that has wreaked havoc across the country
Thousands of die-hard Iowans braved wind chills as low as minus 35 degrees and ignored frostbite warnings to head to their precincts to cast their votes
Three caucus goers show up at the Franklin Jr. High School in Iowa, ready to cast their vote
Sharon McNutt holds paper ballots listing the names of the candidates in alphabetical order
Voters begin to arrive at a caucus site at Fellows Elementary School to choose their Republican candidate
Supporters of former President Donald Trump wait in line in below zero temperatures on Sunday to see the ex-president headline a rally in Indianola, Iowa ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses
One of the buttons for sale outside former President Donald Trump’s rally in Indianola, Iowa on Sunday. The ex-president was forced to cancel three other rallies due to two blizzards and then sub-zero temperatures rattling the Hawkeye State
A day laborer shovels snow from the sidewalk in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, USA, 15 January 2024
Workers clear a snow covered sidewalk, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa.
A campaign sign supporting Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is stuck in the snow on January 15, 2024, in Pella, Iowa
He added: ‘This is the beginning of something important. It’s the most important election in the history of our country.
‘Take a look at what has happened to our country in the last a short period of time. I think especially with all the bad things in Afghanistan, the worst retreat. That was a surrender.’
In a final Real Clear Politics average of polls the ex-president had been 33.7 points ahead of Haley, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
She had slipped into second place ahead of DeSantis, the Florida Governor in most of the surveys leading up to Monday night’s caucuses.
An aerial view of Iowa State Capitol covered in snow, ahead of Iowa state caucus vote, in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 202
Trump’s campaign was more organized this time around compared to 2016.
He lost the 2016 Iowa caucuses to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Each caucus site had a designated Trump Caucus Captain – known to the crowd by their distinctive white hats with gold lettering.
That Caucus Captain delivered a speech on behalf of Trump before voting at the precincts began.
Ahead of caucus night, Gary Leffler, Trump’s Caucus Captain for the West Des Moines’ 118 precinct, told DailyMail.com that the ex-president’s operation was the most organized.
‘This is far and away their best effort yet,’ he said, explaining that he had attended caucuses when Trump was on the ballot in 2016 and 2020. ‘They’ve got it figured out. They’re doing really strong.’
Leffler, who was attending an event with Donald Trump Jr. at the Machine Shed Restaurant in Urbandale, Iowa, on Thursday then showed reporters pages and pages of names of voters he was tasked to call to remind them to show up to Monday night’s caucuses.
Trump’s fear in advance of the caucuses was that his lead in the polls would decrease some voter turnout on his behalf due to the predicted bad weather.
He repeatedly told his crowds they needed to vote like the polls were close.
‘So get out and vote. Don’t listen to the polls. In fact, pretend instead of being 40 points up or some crazy number…pretend you’re one point down. You’re one point down. You have to get out and you have to vote, vote vote!’ he said at a rally in Clinton, Iowa on January 6.
During his Sunday rally in Indianola, he joked to the crowd that even if they weren’t feeling well, they should go out and caucus.
‘If you’re sick as a dog, you say, darling – even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it,’ he said.