Donald Trump is storming to victory in Iowa - a major test of whether he can run for President again

Voters are having their say in the first major test for Donald Trump in 2024, and it’s looking very promising for the former president.

Donald Trump is projected to win the Iowa causcuses — just 30 minutes after voting begun — meaning he is well on his way to becoming the Republican presidential candidate.

The results are an indication as to whether the former president’s runaway poll lead will translate to real results.

It’s a long way to the presidential election in November but the vote in Iowa today was crucial for Trump.

In the US, the election is a two-part process. First the major parties have to decide who they want to put forward as their candidate.

Most states hold elections known as primaries or caucuses to do that.

Democrat Joe Biden is yet to face any meaningful challenge for his own party’s nomination. That just leaves the Republicans.

And Iowa is the first state to have its say.

Multiple US networks including the Associated Press have already called the outcome of the primary saying Trump will be the winner.

Donald Trump Jr tweeted shortly after, writing: “Well, that was fast. Thank you Iowa. Now let’s end this nonsense and go after the insanity that is today’s Democrat party. Enough is enough! It’s time to put America first for a change.”

Well, that was fast. Thank you Iowa. Now let’s end this nonsense and go after the insanity that is today’s Democrat party. Enough is enough! It’s time to put America first for a change. pic.twitter.com/nmzDFo7oqV

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 16, 2024

If a landslide is forthcoming, Trump’s grip on the nomination would appear unshakeable, but a sub-par winning margin could have opened the door to his main rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis — currently locked in a battle for distant second.

“I think we are going to have a tremendous night tonight,” Trump said in a video posted on social media. “The people are fantastic and I’ve never seen spirit like they have.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump spoke to supporters. Picture: Scott Olson / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

He also enjoyed a boogie. Picture: Scott Olson / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

For the first time since he lost his 2020 re-election bid, the former US president — who is being prosecuted in four criminal cases, ranging from taking top secret documents to trying to overthrow his election loss — faced voters.

But observers had not ruled out a surprisingly strong showing by Haley or DeSantis.

Adding uncertainty, Iowans had to contend with blizzards and a potential wind chill in some areas of -42C potentially throttling turnout.

“I’m asking you to go out, brave the cold and support me in the Iowa Caucus,” DeSantis posted on X, formerly Twitter. “You will never have an opportunity to have your vote make more of an impact than you will tonight!”

Bizarre scenes as votes counted

As ballots were tallied in the sleepy rural state of Iowa there were very low-tech vote-counting methods on display.

Votes could be seen being pulled out of Ziploc bags or being read from folded pieces of paper in a popcorn bucket.

Votes could be seen being pulled out of popcorn buckets. Picture: CNN

CNN explained this is because Caucuses are party meetings rather than official elections and are run by the Iowa Republican Party, not the state government.

Every precinct conducts the vote in its own way. There’s no official ballot or list of authorised candidates.

Iowa bellwether

As the first primary contest, Iowa has an outsized impact, often setting momentum and media narratives ahead of the next states in the calendar.

Trump’s margin of his victory will be under scrutiny, with anything less than a crushing margin denting the sense of inevitability that he has worked hard to create.

The latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll put Trump at 48 per cent among likely caucus-goers.

Mr Trump’s current chief rival, Nikki Haley. Picture: Christian Monterrosa/AFP

And his other rival, Ron DeSantis. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

Haley, a former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor, surged into second place but was still only at 20 per cent, while Florida Governor DeSantis scored 16 per cent.

The Republican primary also features a number of low-polling candidates, including biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Caucuses are being held by Iowa’s Democrats, along with voting by mail until March. That process, however, is all but set, with Biden seeking a second term.

Biden, whose campaign announced Monday that it had raised more than $97 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and now has a record-breaking war chest of $146 million, faces no serious threat from his two Democratic challengers — self-help author Marianne Williamson and Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips.