2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses

History of the Iowa caucus Beginning in 1972, the Iowa caucuses have been characterized as the first major electoral test for Republican presidential contenders. Despite its strategic importance, between 1976 and 2016, only three out of eight winners of the Iowa caucuses went on to receive the Republican presidential nomination. Republican electorate It has been argued that the Iowa Republican caucuses effectively serve as "referendums on who is the most socially conservative candidate" in the Republican field. Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Ted Cruz in the 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Iowa caucuses, respectively, was credited to their strong support among evangelical voters. In 2016, it was noted by The Des Moines Register that almost half of likely Republican caucusgoers self-identify as evangelical or born-again Christians. In the 2016 Iowa Republican caucus, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas defeated eventual nominee Donald Trump by a 27.6% to 24.3% margin in what was considered an upset victory. Procedure Delegates are proportionally allocated to candidates based on the statewide vote. Unlike most states, there is no minimum threshold for a candidate to be eligible for delegates. == Campaign developments ==

In February 2023, the Trump campaign announced its Iowa campaign staff, with state representative Bobby Kaufmann and consultant Eric Branstad, the son of former Governor Terry Branstad, serving as senior advisors. In March 2023, Trump's campaign announced that it would hold an "America First Education Policy" event in Davenport on March 13, marking his first official campaign appearance in the state. Nikki Haley had held 22 events in Iowa by May 19, 2023. Her campaign made ad buys of $10 million in Iowa and New Hampshire beginning in December 2023. On December 8, Haley addressed a convention center conference where she stated her campaign had momentum and needed "to have a good showing in Iowa. I don’t think that means we have to win, necessarily, but I think that we have to have a good showing." Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis held a pair of events in the state on March 10 and was accompanied by Governor Kim Reynolds. Reynolds remained neutral between Trump and DeSantis, which caused Trump to post on Truth Social accusing her of stealing the race from him and that like DeSantis, she would not have been elected without Trump's help. Reynolds broke her neutrality in November 2023 and endorsed DeSantis. Between October and December, DeSantis toured all 99 Iowan counties. In December, DeSantis' wife, Casey DeSantis, was widely criticized for calling on Republicans from other states to participate in the Iowa caucuses. Asa Hutchinson focused most of his energy campaigning in the state, hoping to perform well and use that success as a springboard for the rest of his campaign. ==Endorsements==

graph of all polls conducted since November 2022. Aggregate polls == Results ==

Just minutes after the caucus events started at 7 pm local time, Trump was projected to win the most votes by the Associated Press. Trump received 20 delegates, DeSantis nine, Haley eight, and Ramaswamy three. Barring any shifts in votes after the conclusion of the Iowa Republican Party's ongoing recanvass of the caucus results, Trump won all of Iowa's counties except for Johnson County, which he lost to Haley by one vote. Ramaswamy, who placed fourth, announced the suspension of his campaign the night of the caucus, endorsing Trump, but will retain his three expected delegates. Hutchinson announced the suspension of his campaign the day after the caucus. DeSantis, despite finishing in second place, announced the suspension of his campaign six days after the caucus. The DeSantis campaign was highly critical of "media outlets" calling the results before the caucuses had closed. According to The Des Moines Register, the turnout was reduced compared to the previous caucuses in 2020, due to the colder than normal weather. == See also ==