GOP Senators Expect Trump to Win Iowa

Former President Donald Trump will win the Iowa caucuses by a large margin on his way to the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, according to Republicans in the U.S. Senate.

Even Trump foe Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, expects the former president to win Iowa easily on Monday and likely capture the nomination, The Hill reported.

“Trump will win by a big margin,” Romney said, the outlet reported.

“I think [former U.N. Ambassador] Nikki Haley will probably win the second-place crown” in Iowa and “has a good shot of winning in New Hampshire,” Romney continued.

Nevertheless, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012 says there’s “a very small chance of her [Haley] becoming the nominee.”

He added that Trump is “in the catbird seat,” The Hill reported.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that she expects Trump to win The Hawkeye State.

“We’ll see the margin. I guess I am assuming that President Trump wins, but it could be any one of these fantastic candidates,” Ernst told host Kristen Welker. “So again, we’ll see who emerges. I’ve made up my decision on who I will caucus for — it is a private ballot.”

Ernst did not rule out endorsing Trump if he wins the nomination.

Results of an NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll Sunday showed Trump with a nearly 30-point lead in Iowa.

The survey found that former South Carolina Gov. Haley narrowly edged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place, though the gap was within the poll’s margin of error.

Nineteen GOP senators, including Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso, R-Wyo., have endorsed Trump. None have endorsed Haley.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., endorsed Trump on Sunday.

Republican senators largely have dismissed DeSantis’ chances in the primary race, The Hill reported.

The Iowa caucuses will be followed by the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, the Feb. 8 Nevada caucuses, and the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who has endorsed Trump, said Haley won’t be able to sustain any momentum she might develop by winning New Hampshire, where CNN reported that polls show her within single digits of the former president.

Cramer predicted that Haley, even if she wins in New Hampshire, likely will lose her home state.

“Her state’s next, and if she can’t win her own, I do think that’s a tough hill to climb,” Cramer said of Haley in South Carolina, The Hill reported.

A recent Emerson College poll of South Carolina voters found Trump leading Haley by 29 points, 54% to 25%.

“Anything over 13 points [in South Carolina] would be historic — the largest margin of victory in the history of the caucus, I think, is 13. If he exceeds that, he has a lot to be proud of,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has endorsed Trump.