Trump poised to win 98 out of 99 Iowa counties

Former President Trump is poised to emerge as the top candidate in 98 of Iowa’s 99 counties after Monday’s caucuses, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley edging him out in one county.

Haley, seen as the more moderate candidate in the race, got the top spot in Johnson County, which is home to the University of Iowa. She bested Trump by only one vote, with 1,271 votes in the county favoring Haley and 1,270 votes favoring the former president, according to election data from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.

While the number of counties won by each candidate does not dictate the delegate apportionment, Trump’s near-sweep in the country’s first election contest demonstrates his commanding grip on the Republican Party ahead of November.

Ultimately, in Iowa, delegates are apportioned based on the vote share each candidate receives. By Tuesday morning, with about 110,298 votes counted, Trump had won 51 percent (56,260 votes) of all votes in the Hawkeye State, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s 21.2 percent (23,420 votes) and Haley’s 19.1 percent (21,085).

Trump secured 20 delegates, DeSantis secured eight of the county’s delegates, Haley secured seven and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy secured three delegates. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign following the disappointing performance and endorsed Trump.

Two delegates remain that have not been pledged to a particular candidate.

Trump’s overwhelming victory Monday demonstrated the enthusiasm of his base, especially as voters braved subzero dangerous temperatures to caucus in the first presidential primary.

Following his win, the former president said he felt “invigorated” by the competition.

“It really is an honor that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won — against very credibly competition — great competition, actually,” Trump told Fox News Digital after the race was called.

DeSantis’s second-place finish may have provided the slight boost he needed in the state where he invested the majority of his resources.

Haley, on the other hand, went into the caucuses with lower expectations because she’s focused much of her campaign on New Hampshire, which holds its primary next week.