Takeaways: Blockbuster night for Donald Trump, not so much for Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis

DES MOINES, Iowa − Donald Trump got a big win. Ron DeSantis survived the night. Nikki Haley notched a third-place finish. And Vivek Ramaswamy called it quits.

These are among the takeaways from the blowout Iowa Republican Caucuses, the first contest in a GOP presidential nomination contest that remains mostly in Trump's control.

Trump appeared to appeal to his rivals to get behind him, saying at one point:  "I really think this is time now for everybody − our country − to come together."

Up next, the New Hampshire primary.

Trump's takeaway: Still in front − way in front

The former president proved he is still the leader of the Republican Party by doing something he did not do during the 2016 campaign: win the Iowa caucuses.

Trump, who lost eight years ago to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, took the caucuses this time by a record margin for a Republican caucus − and apparently carried more than 50%.

At times during the campaign, Trump said a strong finish in Iowa should end the race. After his majority win, however, Trump took a conciliatory approach, describing his opponents as great people.

Trump also praised Ramaswamy − minutes before the businessman announced he was withdrawing from the race.

Haley: Not great, not debilitating

The former South Carolina governor landed a third-place finish with just under 20% of the vote − not enough to pass DeSantis for second place but higher than what she would have expected months ago.

Now it's on to next Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire, where Haley has been polling within striking distance of the front-running former president.

An upset by Haley in New Hampshire would propel her into a one-on-one battle with Trump in South Carolina, her home state.

In a post-caucus speech, Haley poked at Trump by saying he is "consumed by the past," including investigations, vendettas and grievances. "America deserves better," she said. 

DeSantis' campaign is still alive

The Florida governor spent most of the day swatting away rumors that he would withdraw from the race if he had a poor performance in Iowa.

His second-place finish isn't great − he's likely to finish nearly 30 percentage points behind Trump − but it's probably good enough to justify moving forward.

DeSantis still has challenges: He's way down in the polls in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and he may well have trouble raising enough campaign money.

The DeSantis campaign also made news after the caucuses by protesting the remarkably quick call of the race by the media, calling it an "outrageous" example of "election interference."

"The media is in the tank for Trump, and this is the most egregious example yet," said DeSantis communications director Andrew Romeo.

Ramaswamy drops out, endorses Trump

The entrepreneur who mounted his first political bid was on track to finish in single digits, persuading him to drop out of the race.

Ramaswamy endorsed Trump despite being the subject of a barrage of attacks over the weekend from the former president.

Trump, who spent the weekend attacking Ramaswamy, saying he was trying to steal his votes, had nothing but praise for him in his victory speech: "He did a helluva job."

.