Donald Trump says he's 'honored' to win Iowa Caucus after quick victory over Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis
Former President Donald Trump won the Republican Iowa Caucuses on Monday, immediately applauding the quick call in his favor and later asking his voters to focus on November.
The GOP frontrunner told Fox News Digital he was honored by his early victory, which came less than hour after the caucuses officially started. And Trump's final margin of victory could surpass former Sen. Bob Dole's record at the 1988 Iowa Caucuses.
"I am greatly honored by such an early call," Trump said Monday. "It really is an honor that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won – against very credible competition – great competition, actually."
Trump later touted his win while addressing supporters at his campaign's watch party in Des Moines. He joked about how close the second place battle was without naming rivals Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis. He gave a shout out to Vivek Ramaswamy despite feuding in recent days.
However, he ultimately focused his supporter's attention to November's general election, which appears to be a rematch between him and President Joe Biden.
"This is the first, because the big night is going to be in November when we take back our country," he added.
Iowa Caucus results:Donald Trump wins, Ron DeSantis places second, Vivek Ramaswamy drops out
Trump Jr. says 'a win is a win'
Donald Trump Jr. on Monday also celebrated his father's victory at a Des Moines caucus site, arguing that the country will be in better shape if Donald Trump is reelected.
Regardless of the margin of victory Monday night, the former president's son said "a win is a win is a win" for his father. He also accused Donald Trump's opponents of trying to drag out the primary process with unrealistic expectations, vowing they can defeat the former president in Iowa and across the country.
How did Donald Trump win so fast?
Not even an hour after doors closed, the Associated Press called the 2024 Iowa Caucuses for Donald Trump at just 7:31pm CT. With just eight counties reporting their results, the winner was determined by a combination of entrance polling and results from a survey of planned voters run by AP.
The eight counties with results in were, according to AP, similar in demographics and political ideology of other large precincts yet to be counted.
The AP made their call based on this data as well as analysis from elections experts, researchers, and professional race callers. USA TODAY called the Iowa victory for Trump based on AP’s analysis and call.
Contributing: David Jackson
