Donald Trump Wins Iowa Caucuses as Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson Drop Out

Just as the polls expected, former president Donald Trump won big in the Iowa caucuses–sweeping up more than 50 percent of the vote–leading to the departures of two longshot contenders.

Serial entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson both suspended their presidential campaigns after lackluster results in Iowa. Despite his best efforts, Ramaswamy only managed to grab nearly 8 percent of the vote from caucus goers. Hutchinson’s performance was even worse: He racked up 0.2 percent of the vote.

The results sting, especially for Ramaswamy, who had paid visits to each of Iowa’s 99 counties not once but twice.

While it’s a landslide victory for Trump, Iowa’s turnout was meager when compared with that of the past two decades. Around 110,000 Iowa Republicans braved blizzard conditions on Monday, data from the Republican Party of Iowa shows. That’s a 41 percent dip, compared with the 187,000 Republicans who voted in the 2016 caucus.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley came in second and third place in the Iowa caucuses, respectively. But a test that may drum up more interest, some argue, could be next Tuesday when the New Hampshire primaries take place. 

“New Hampshire is a bigger test for Trump, as its electorate is more favorable to Haley than Iowa’s was,” according to political analysis from Kyle Kondik, who writes for Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the UVA Center for Politics. “But Trump can further confirm his imposing status by winning there, as non-incumbent Republicans have struggled to win both Iowa and New Hampshire in the same cycle.”

It’s a testament that voters aren’t too concerned with the 91 criminal charges that Trump faces. While Trump hasn’t offered what his plans for small businesses might be if he gets another shot at the White House, he’s been clear on plans to impose more tariffs on imported goods, as he challenges China once again. 

Trump has also promised to rework the government–including expanding the executive branch’s power so he’d oversee independent federal agencies–if he clinches the presidency once again. Also in store would be a mass firing of federal employees, as Trump looks to tear up the so-called “deep state.” Doing so could negatively impact small businesses if, say, the Small Business Administration or the Department of Labor were to get gutted.