Donald Trump won the GOP Iowa Caucuses handily on Monday, clinching 51 percent of the vote. Ron DeSantis came in second with 21 percent, and Nikki Haley finished third at 19. Trump secured the largest margin of victory in this contest last night, besting the late Bob Dole, who held the previous record in 1988 by thrashing Pat Robertson by almost 13 points. Trump won by 30 points. This contest wasn't competitive. It was never projected to be competitive. So, why is everyone throwing a fit?
Numerous social media posts from across the political spectrum were alleging election meddling/interference because the networks called it so soon. Within 32 minutes of the doors closing, the caucuses were over. The preliminary numbers were too Trump-heavy for anyone to pull off an upset. It infuriated the DeSantis camp, who decried the move as unethical. I can't believe I'm saying this: the networks had it right—for once.
It's not like the kerfuffle over Arizona in 2020. That was a close race. Other states where election irregularities popped up were also in states with tight margins. The Iowa Caucuses were none of that—Trump won by 30. It was an all-around curb stomping of everyone else, so please spare us trying to shoot inside the ship by weaponizing the election meddling talking point. It doesn't work here.
Ron DeSantis wasn't going to win Iowa; neither was Nikki Haley. Trump led DeSantis by 20 points in the final Iowa poll by Ann Selzer, who also noted that voter enthusiasm for Haley was shaky despite her supposed surge to second place. She finished third. With such a margin, the people at these caucus sites who were voting for Trump, which were many, had reassurances. For everyone else, this talk of air being sucked out of the room is melodramatic: you thought Haley or DeSantis could beat Trump here. Please.
Networks were right to call the 1980 presidential election before the West Coast was done voting because Ronald Reagan trounced Jimmy Carter, and there was no need to hold off that stay of political execution. The same goes for Reagan's 1984 landslide re-election. With Iowa, it's the same principles. The polls were steady for months; Trump was ahead by 20-plus points or more, so this isn't exactly shocking. And I know the folks in both the DeSantis and Haley camps aren't that dense. You people were never going to win here, so enough with the tantrums. You got boat raced, and we all knew it would be a wipeout.
Trump just won. That doesn't mean election interference occurred. The only people who have that benchmark are Democrats.
