Wednesday Briefing: Trump’s Momentum after Iowa

Donald Trump swept the Iowa caucuses, the first Republican primary of the 2024 election. He got 51 percent of the vote — a clear sign of his enduring command of the Republican Party. Here are takeaways.

His 30-point margin of victory set a record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus. But he still faces 91 felony counts, and has a busy year of court dates ahead of him. Yesterday, he appeared in a New York courthouse for the opening day of his defamation trial. The writer E. Jean Carroll is suing the former president for defaming her after she had accused him of rape.

Then, Trump headed to New Hampshire for a rally. The small, northeastern state is next on the Republican primary list; voters will cast their ballots next week.

Here’s the latest.

Looking ahead: Trump’s main challengers — Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador under Trump — have a tough fight ahead. They lost by a wide margin in Iowa, but DeSantis pulled ahead of Haley, with 21 percent of the vote to her 19 percent.

Haley may have an advantage in New Hampshire — she holds greater appeal among the more educated, moderate voters who live there. But both she and DeSantis plan to continue to campaign, which could ultimately benefit Trump. They split the anti-Trump Republican vote in Iowa, and will likely do so again.

Vivek Ramaswamy: The entrepreneur and political newcomer suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump after finishing fourth.