US elections 2024: What's at stake for Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis in Monday's Iowa caucuses?
Donald Trump is looking to seal the deal. Three other Republicans are hoping to slow his march toward the Republican nomination. That's the set-up for Monday's Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2024 election.
For Trump's top rivals, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, the caucuses will be a test of their continued viability as candidates. The pressure is on DeSantis, who has made a strong finish in Iowa his top priority. The caucuses not only provide an early snapshot of how voters view the presidential field but can also sometimes boost a lesser candidate or finish off a struggling one.
In the end, however, sometimes the caucuses don’t end up meaning much. In the last three competitive Republican contests — in 2016, 2012 and 2008 — the winner did not go on to be the party’s nominee. Here is a look at the stakes for each candidate vying to challenge President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in November: Trump is highly favoured to win the caucuses, but there is some question whether he needs a victory.
After all, he didn’t win them in 2016 and went on to cruise to the Republican nomination anyway. On the other hand, a Trump loss or narrow win could upend the race, showing voters that his support is softer than it looks and providing encouragement — and a fresh wave of campaign donations — to Haley and DeSantis. The pressure on Trump to win the second contest in New Hampshire primary on Jan.
23 would escalate dramatically. Trump has not been taking Iowa for granted. Although he has not engaged in the kind of county-by-county campaigning favoured by DeSantis, Trump has stepped up his presence in the state.
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