The 2024 election has officially kicked off with the Iowa Caucus, where Donald Trump walked away with a monumental win. The Iowa Caucus has historically been used by political scientists to predict future primary elections in other states, so this is a big moment for Trump’s campaign team. 

Caucus elections function quite differently from how most of the US votes, otherwise known as primary elections. Caucuses are considered a state meeting, as opposed to a federal election, where meetings take place around the state, and each state elects a delegate to represent one of the presidential candidates. The presidential candidate with the most delegates wins the overall caucus. It’s certainly a slightly complicated process that has been dwindling throughout the years because states are opting for the federal primary voting system. 

Prior to the meetings, most news sites were calling for Trump to lose this state race, saying Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley were far more likely to take the votes in Iowa. But when the dust cleared, Trump had 51%, DeSantis had 21% and Haley had 19%. After much news about Trump being taken off the ballot in Colorado and Maine, this win is monumental for Trump’s team. I spoke to Kennedy Stephens about this outcome and she told me, “I’m very shocked about the outcome, and honestly it changes the way I think a lot of people are gonna end up seeing this election.” 

As we await for the Democratic Iowa caucus’s results to come in, one thing we know for sure is we are in for an incredibly interesting race this year. And we want to remind you that all of our current Seniors and some of our Juniors will be able to vote in November, and we highly encourage everyone to!