Trump’s win in Iowa shows big strengths and hidden warning signs

Former President Donald Trump’s dominant victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday showed just how much the party has coalesced around him in the last eight years — and which voters are still resisting that realignment.

The former president improved on his margins all across the state compared to the 2016 caucuses, winning all but one of Iowa’s counties and 87 percent of the state’s 1,657 precincts. He finished more than 30 points ahead of his closest rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

But his takeover of the GOP electorate was not complete. Nearly half of voters, 49 percent, backed another candidate on Monday. And Trump’s performance was not consistently strong in all areas, according to a POLITICO analysis of precinct-level results and entrance polls.

Read More (...)