With Anthony Zurcher, Sarah Smith, Nomia Iqbal, Gary O’Donoghue, Bernd Debusmann Jr, Mike Wendling and Holly Honderich reporting from Iowa, and Madeline Halpert in Concord, New Hampshire.
Donald Trump has hailed his “very special” landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, cementing his status as the clear frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – who campaigned relentlessly in the state – edges out former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley to take a distant second placeIowa is the first of the state-by-state contests where Republican voters pick their White House candidate Next up is New Hampshire and the candidates are heading there today for more campaigning ahead of the primary next Tuesday Meanwhile biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramsay drops out of the race and endorses Trump – he had caused a stir in early debates but failed to gain traction Whoever wins the Republican nomination will face a Democrat, almost certainly Joe Biden, in the November presidential election.