GOP presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the results of Monday night's Iowa Caucus made the Republican primary a "two-person race."
In a historic landslide victory, former President Donald Trump defeated fellow GOP challengers by about 30 points, garnering 51% of total votes cast in the state. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with just over 21%, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with just over 19%, per the Associated Press.
Haley addressed her camp in Des Moines, Iowa late Monday night.
"I can safely say tonight, Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race!" Haley said enthusiastically.
“Tonight I will be back in the great state of New Hampshire,” Haley continued. “And the question before Americans is now very clear: Do you want more of the same, or do you want a new generation?”
Haley noted the age of victor Trump and President Joe Biden. “Trump and Biden are both about 80 years old,” she said. “Trump and Biden put our country trillions of dollars deeper in debt, and our kids will never forgive them. Both lack a vision for our country’s future because both are consumed by the past — by investigations, by vendettas, by grievances. Haley added, "Americans deserve better." In an unprecedented move, corporate media outlets, including The New York Times, Fox News, and NBC News, projected Trump as the Iowa caucus winner shortly after the polls closed. The Associated Press notably projected Trump as the victor of the night with under 1% of precincts reporting. Trump had garnered just over 70% of votes, followed by DeSantis with 15.1%, Haley with 8.2% and Ramaswamy with 5.8% with just under 500 votes counted. Shortly after Iowa caucus results were released, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy ended his presidential campaign and threw support behind Trump. "As I've said since the beginning, there are two America First candidates in this race," Ramaswamy told his camp in Iowa. “Earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory." "Now, going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency," Ramaswamy added. "This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want," Ramaswamy continued in an early Tuesday X post. "[I] will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country." With 93% of precincts reporting at the time of his announcement, the entrepreneur had garnered just under 8% support, totaling over 8,000 votes, per the Associated Press.
