Former President Donald Trump was the decisive victor in the Iowa caucuses earlier this week, and it turns out that a large majority of Iowa GOPers knew they were planning to vote for him.
A poll conducted by the Associated Press’ VoteCast revealed that nearly 70% of Iowans said they’ve known for quite some time that Trump was going to be their pick.
These results show just how much of a grip Trump has on the Republican Party not just in Iowa but around the country. Iowa was actually considered by many to be a state that another GOP candidate might be able to surprise and win.
Iowa’s influential Republican Governor Kim Reynolds — as well as some other prominent conservatives in the state — had actually endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
But, that didn’t seem to matter.
Not only did Trump not lose in Iowa, the race wasn’t really competitive at all. Trump captured 51% of the vote and the 20 delegates who come along with it on Monday. DeSantis captured 21.2% and nine delegates, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley captured 19.1% and eight delegates.
According to the AP poll, 62% of caucusgoers in Iowa responded that they are supporters of the “Make America Great Again” movement, compared to only 36% who said they don’t.
Among those who support the MAGA movement, Trump received 74% of the vote. In addition, he had 13% support from people who said they weren’t MAGA supporters — which is quite impressive, actually.
Trump’s strongest performance came from rural areas of Iowa, which again isn’t very surprising. It’s typical that major cities and some suburban areas tend to lean liberal or at least moderate, while rural areas tend to be more conservative.
The AP reported that in those rural regions of the state, roughly 60% of people who attended the Iowa caucuses supported Trump. He especially excelled with people who don’t have a college degree as well as people who consider themselves evangelicals.
The survey also revealed that the economy and immigration were the top two issues that caucusgoers cared about. About 40% responded that immigration was the most important issue of the upcoming election, and about 60% of those people supported Trump.
Further, almost 90% of all GOP voters in Iowa support expanding the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico — which has long been a campaign priority for the former president. In addition, nearly 75% of GOP voters in the state said that immigration was currently hurting America.
The survey further highlighted that almost 33% of caucusgoers identified the economy as their tip issue, and almost half of those people supported Trump.
This survey was conducted over the eight days that preceded the Iowa Republican caucuses, which were held on Monday. Those polled said they were planning to participate in the caucuses
It was held in tandem with the NORC Research Center, and ultimately polled 1,597 voters in the state.
