Donald Trump wins Iowa Caucus; Ron DeSantis comes in second; Vivek Ramaswamy drops out

CLIVE, Iowa, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Former President Donald Trump won Iowa's caucus on Monday.

With about 100% of counties reported and approved, Trump held 51% of the vote to choose the Republican nominee for president, more than 56,000 votes. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earned 21.2% and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley had 19.1%.

Forty delegates to the Republican National Convention are at stake in Iowa, and if Trump's margin of victory holds, he would claim 17 or more of them. To win the Republican nomination, a candidate must secure at least 1,215 delegates.

Trump's success was similar between rural and metropolitan areas.

Haley held an advantage over DeSantis in Johnson and Story County, where the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are located. She also earned the second-most votes in Dallas and Linn County.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy climbed ahead of Haley to earn the third-most votes in Buchanan County. During his watch party as the results were coming in, Ramaswamy announced that he is suspending his campaign.

"There is no path for me to be the next president absent things we don't want to see happen in this country," Ramaswamy said.

Kim Schmett, leader of the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, addressed the large crowd at the Horizon Event Center in Clive, remarking on a large turnout at 7 p.m. CST. More than 700 people came to that caucus location, which was one of more than 1,600 across the state.

"They said nobody was going to show up," Schmett told the crowd. "I'm looking at a room with a whole bunch of people in here."

The turnout was low in comparison to 2016, when more than 186,000 Iowans caucused for Republicans. Monday's turnout was about 102,000 with a majority of the most-populated counties reported.

Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is also seeking the nomination, arrived at the caucus location in Clive moments before it began.

"Thank you, Iowa, for treating all of our candidates with respect," Hutchinson said. "We're trusting you in Iowa to get it right."

Ramaswamy said he held 390 events during his Iowa campaign. The appearance in Clive marked his last in the state.

Trump and Haley delivered speeches before voting began. Trump credited himself for Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus status and vowed he would keep Iowa first if re-elected.

"With me, you're always going to be first in the nation," he said. "This is the beginning of something very important."

Most of Iowa was blanketed in a wind chill warning into Tuesday. Wind chills are expected to hit -25 to -35 degrees Fahrenheit through Tuesday morning.

The temperature fell to -6 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday night. The coldest caucus day on record was Jan. 24, 1972.

Kimberly Tarpey told UPI she would not be deterred by the weather but may have thought twice about participating in the caucus if she lived in a rural area. She said she typically identifies as an independent, though she expects to vote for whomever the Republican nominee is.

"I'm really concerned about the well-being of our country," Tarpey said. "I look at people who are of the generation where I don't want you getting called off and fighting somewhere. I don't."

Trump, Haley, DeSantis and Ramaswamy have campaigned heavily in Iowa since last summer. Their campaigns remained active in the state through the weekend despite severe winter weather conditions.

The winner of Monday's caucus will not necessarily become the Republican nominee for president, but performing well in Iowa can give a campaign momentum moving forward.

To participate, voters needed to be registered as Republicans and be 18 by election day on Nov. 5.

Next up is the New Hampshire primary, set for Jan. 23.