Unsurprisingly, Trump won the first Republican primary for the US presidential nomination. Rather, the question was who would secure second place.
In the first US Republican primary election for the presidential candidacy, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis secured second place – far behind former President Donald Trump. The television channels Fox News and CNN reported this that night based on their own forecasts. The former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, came in third place. DeSantis and Haley were in a neck-and-neck race for second place. Trump emerged as the clear winner among the Republican presidential candidates in the first primary election of the election year.
Trump’s victory was expected. The 77-year-old was leading the polls by a wide margin. DeSantis should breathe a sigh of relief with his second place finish. He had steadily lost support in surveys over the past few months and had remained conspicuously pale in the Republicans’ TV duels. The ultra-conservative 45-year-old focused particularly on Iowa during the election campaign and toured intensively through the state, which is home to a large number of evangelical Christians.
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 Republican kickoff in Iowa heralds the election year. The actual presidential election will 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.