In yesterday’ Iowa caucus, Trump walked away with 51 percent of the vote. He left his two main opponents, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley far enough behind that they must be wondering how long to continue.
A third contender, Vivek Ramaswamy, wonders no more. He quit the race and endorsed Trump.
Given Trump’s victory, the only question left about the GOP race is when DeSantis and Haley will quit their Sysyphean endeavor.
The Result
The margin of Trump’s victory was nothing short of stunning. He won 98 of the state’s 99 counties, and the one where he didn’t win, Johnson, he lost by just one vote to Haley, 1,271-1,270.
As well, Trump prevailed in many counties with more than 65 percent of the vote. He won Jackson County with 72 percent: 498 votes to Haley’s 75 and DeSantis’ 68.
Total votes for Trump: 56,260.
The rest of the field was left in ruins:
• DeSantis: 23,420 (21.2 percent)
• Haley: 21,085 (19.1 percent)
• Ramaswamy: 8,449 (7.7 percent)
Trump’s record-breaking victory smashed that of Robert Dole when he defeated Pat Buchanan by 12 points in 1996, the Des Moines Register observed, and surpassed even Team Trump’s “sky-high expectations.”
Unlike Belshazzar in the Book of Daniel, Ramaswamy didn’t need a prophet to decipher the handwriting on the wall. It was plain as day: Throw in the towel.
That he did, and then he quickly rallied supporters for the man he called the “the greatest president of the 21st century.”
“It is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight,” Ramaswamy said when he bailed out. “Earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency.”
Ramaswamy can expect a high appointment in a second Trump administration. Very possibly, he could become Homeland Security Secretary with orders to close the border given his Trump-like positions on the matter, not least his claim that the Great Replacement is not a “white supremacist conspiracy theory.”
Unlike the 38-year-old Indian tech tycoon, DeSantis and Haley haven’t dealt with reality.
“You helped us get a ticket punched out of the Hawkeye State,” the Sunshine State governor said:
We have a lot of work to do, but I can tell you this: As the next President of the United States, I am going to get the job done for this country.
Haley, who ran third, is apparently dealing with delusions.
“I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” Haley inexplicably crowed to a band of equally delusional supporters. “Tonight, I will be back in the great state of New Hampshire. And the question before Americans is now very clear.”
Yes, it is. Trump or Biden.
RCP Averages
The Real Clear Politics average of GOP primary voter polls still show Trump not just with a commanding lead over DeSantis and Haley, but instead with what appears to be an insurmountable one.
Trump is polling at 61.4 percent, 49.4 points ahead of Haley’s 12. DeSantis is third at 10.7 percent.
But the most recent CBS and Morning Consult polls are even worse for the two main contenders. They give Trump 69 percent against their 12 and 11.
The next two primaries that could well settle the race are New Hampshire on January 23 and South Carolina on February 3.
The RCP averages in those two races don’t look good for Haley and DeSantis, although Haley is performing much better in New Hampshire than she is in her own state.
In New Hampshire, she trails Trump by 14.2 points, 43.5-29.3. DeSantis is gasping along at 6.5, behind even recently departed candidate Chris Christie.
In South Carolina, Haley is losing badly. Trump is pulling 52 percent of the vote against Haley’s 21.8. DeSantis is a distant third at 11.
As for Trump versus Biden, again, Trump’s ahead, 45.8 percent to 44.7. Trump has prevailed in five of the last 11 polls and tied Biden twice.
Good news is, Haley is also ahead of Biden, 41.7 to 41.3. DeSantis is not.
Given that GOP voters clearly prefer Trump and that defeating him for the GOP nomination is next to impossible, the question is whether the Deep State Uniparty will permit him to become president.
Leftist prosecutors have filed four criminal cases against him that they believe will keep him out of the White House.
Two are connected to the 2020 presidential election that was marked by widespread voter fraud that helped “elect” Joe Biden.
Trump faces four felony counts in connection with the “insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 and 13 felony counts in Georgia because he challenged the results there, too.
Another case involves the classified documents he took to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he left office and invited 40 felony charges, while another 36 were filed in connection with supposed “hush money” paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump can run for the presidency and serve as president from prison. And his supporters say they’ll support him even if he is jailed.
That means Biden, or whoever the Democrat nominee is, might have to rig the vote again to defeat him.
H/T: Fox News
