NIKKI Haley was the big winner of the Iowa caucus even though she is set to finish behind her rivals Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump, a political expert has told The U.S. Sun.
Trump stormed to victory in Monday's caucus and he is projected to win more than 50% of the public vote.
More than 95% of the ballots are in and Trump is leading DeSantis by more than 30,000 votes.
Trump is expected to pick up 20 of the state's 40 delegates that were up for grabs, while DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, and Haley, who served under Trump as US Ambassador to the UN in 2017-18, are trailing on nine and eight.
DeSantis launched his campaign for president in May last year, while Haley announced her bid for the White House in February 2023.
She has consistently called for a new generation of leaders to emerge within the GOP ranks.
The race for the Republican presidential nomination is down to just three candidates, with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy calling time on his campaign.
Ramaswamy suspended his bid for The White House after finishing a distant fourth.
He picked up just three delegates and 7.7% of the popular vote.
David Richards, a political expert at the University of Lynchburg, told The U.S. Sun Haley has momentum heading into next week’s caucus in New Hampshire.
“The big winner tonight is Nikki Haley," he said.
“For months she has been stuck in single digits, but tonight she showed that her polling bump is real. This shows she can compete and make a run for it.”
Just three months ago, Haley was eight percentage points behind DeSantis in Iowa, per the average Five Thirty-Eight polls.
Haley looks set to finish around two percentage points behind DeSantis when all the votes have been counted.
DeSantis is on 21.2% while Haley is trailing behind at 19.1%.
DeSantis and Haley had been battling to finish in second place and the average polls showed the race tightening in Iowa before caucus day.
Before Americans cast their vote, it seemed that Haley had edged ahead of the Florida Governor, according to the final polls.
DeSantis visited all of Iowa’s 99 counties and received backing from the state’s governor Kim Reynolds, who broke from recent traditions.
Because of his showing in Iowa, Richards expects DeSantis to remain in the race for the nomination a little longer.
Richards warned that in the long run, there are few benefits for the Haley team if she finishes third in the upcoming caucuses.
“Third place going forward will do her little good as most states will be winner-takes-all for delegates with Trump getting those delegates if he can continue to get more than 50%,” he said.
Richards suspects DeSantis might stay in the race until the South Carolina primary, which takes place next month.
DeSantis had been forced to shut down speculation that he would suspend his campaign if he performed poorly in Iowa.
After it emerged DeSantis would finish in second, he bullishly told his fans: "We've got our ticket punched out of Iowa."
DeSantis will be heading to South Carolina on Tuesday before heading to New Hampshire.
Nevada holds its caucus on February 8 and delegates are once again assigned to candidates in line with their share of the vote.
But, when it comes to the South Carolina primary on February 24, the winner takes it all.
Fifty delegates will be up for grabs in that contest.
Trump always maintained a commanding lead in the polls leading up to the Iowa caucus, and Richards said the tycoon won easily.
“With just over 50%, he did what he needed to do. It was not the blowout he was hoping for, but it was in line with expectations,” he said.
“The question is, 'Is this "meh" performance a sign of weakness or a sign that all is well?' Going forward, most states are winner-takes-all, so Trump getting over 50% will guarantee him enough delegates to win.”
Trump performed particularly well with Americans in small towns and rural areas.
He picked up support among evangelicals and voters without a college degree, per data from AP VoteCast.
A whopping 75% of people surveyed in Iowa believe Trump's indictments are a political attempt to undermine him.
Around nine in 10 Americans surveyed backed the southern border wall - a flagship policy of Trump's first term in office.
But Trump seemed to struggle among suburban voters, with only four out of 10 supporting him.
In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden made gains among suburban voters compared to Hillary Clinton in 2016, which helped the Democrats retake the White House.
Trump’s lead over his GOP rivals in New Hampshire is smaller.
Commentators have suggested that Haley could see a boost in the polls after Chris Christie suspended his campaign last week.
Christie was caught on a hot mic and was reportedly heard saying that Haley would get smoked before announcing the end of his campaign.
An average of the polls in New Hampshire suggests Trump is leading Haley by 13 points.
In one CNN poll, Haley was said to be only seven points behind Trump in New Hampshire.
Recent history suggests that the winner of the GOP caucus in Iowa is not guaranteed to be the Republican Party’s nominee for president come the convention season.
In 2016, Ted Cruz defeated Trump in Iowa.
In 2012, then-senator Rick Santorum won the popular vote, while Texas lawmaker Ron Paul scooped 22 delegates.
Neither Santorum nor Paul were the GOP's nominee.
In 2008, John McCain finished fourth in the state’s caucus but became the GOP’s nominee for president.
But, the size of Trump’s victory means he has bragging rights.
"THANK YOU IOWA, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!" Trump posted on his Truth Social page.
He also called DeSantis and Haley "very good people" and congratulated the pair for having "a great time together."
Addressing his supporters after his victory, Trump said: "We want to come together, whether it's Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative.
"We're going to come together. It's going to happen soon."
Trump's remarks came days after he blasted DeSantis and Haley while on the campaign trail.
Trump has also picked up Ramaswamy's support following the caucus.
Ramaswamy congratulated Trump on his success and called him to say he would have his full support.
Trump described Ramaswamy's endorsement as a great honor.
Ramaswamy pulled out of the race after previously vowing to stay in the battle until November.
"I'm gonna guarantee to stay in this race through November of this year when we win the election, through January of next year when I'm inaugurated as your next president, through January of 2033 when we leave that White House after two full terms," he previously told The Dispatch.
David Carlucci, a former New York state senator, suggested Ramaswamy could have a role in a future Trump administration.
Reacting to the results of the caucus, Biden described Trump as the clear front-runner on the other side, per a post on X, formerly Twitter.
