Former President Donald Trump now owns the record for the largest margin of victory in the history of contested Iowa Republican caucuses, more than doubling the previous mark.
Citing the Trump campaign, Reuters reported Friday that late Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) previously held the record in contested Republican Iowa caucuses at 12.8 percent.
As of 11:35 p.m. ET, the New York Times reported Trump had garnered 51 percent of the vote, with 95 percent reporting. He sat 29.7 points ahead of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at 21.3 percent as of this writing. The mammoth margin, which will change slightly one way or another as the last five percent of the vote is tabulated, shatters Dole’s record by roughly 17 points as things currently stand.
What is more, Trump appears to have garnered the highest vote share in Iowa Republican caucus history. Former President George Bush had performed the best of any Republican candidate going back to 1972 with 41 percent, data from the Des Moines Public Library shows.
Below is a breakdown of the top two performing Republicans in every Iowa caucus going back to Dole’s record-setting year in 1988, according to the library.
2016: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) Cruz Beats Trump by 3.3 Percent
- Cruz: 27.6 percent
- Trump 24.3 percent
2012: Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) Tie
- Santorum: 24.6 percent
- Romney: 24.6 percent
2008: Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) Beats Romney by 9.2 Percent
- Huckabee: 34.4 percent
- Romney: 25.2 percent
2000: Former President George Bush Beats Forbes Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes by 9 Percent
- Bush: 41 percent
- Forbes 30 percent
1996: Dole Beats Presidential Consultant Pat Buchanan by 3 Percent
- Dole: 26 percent
- Buchanan: 23 percent
1988: Dole Beats Televangelist Pat Robertson by 12.8 percent, as Reuters noted.
- Dole took roughly 37 percent of the vote that year.
Trump’s win was so decisive on Monday that the Associated Press, CNN, and other major outlets called the race only 30 minutes after the caucuses began as results were just beginning to trickle in. In fact, less than one percent of the vote had been tabulated.
President Trump in Iowa: “I really think this is time now for everybody — our country, to come together.” pic.twitter.com/32rlyqy2yb
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) January 16, 2024
The historic victory illustrates the undeniable energy behind Trump from the Republican grassroots as Trump and his beleaguered opponents head to New Hampshire.
