Iowa votes haven’t been counted yet — but key Republicans think Trump’s already won

Republican senators suspect that former President Donald Trump will be victorious in the Iowa caucuses, paving the way for success in the eventual New Hampshire primary.

While GOP lawmakers still cling to the idea of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley going head-to-head with Trump for the GOP nomination, many Republican senators are convinced Trump is the clear favorite ahead of the Iowa caucuses, the Hill reported.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said a victory for Trump in Iowa will slow Haley’s momentum going into New Hampshire. But he said if Trump wins on Monday and again next week, the race will be over.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) made similar predictions for the first-in-the-nation caucus.

“Trump will win by a big margin,” Romney, a noted Trump critic, said. “I think Nikki Haley will probably win the second-place crown” in Iowa and “has a good shot of winning in New Hampshire.”

He added that a potential win for Haley in New Hampshire won’t necessarily propel her to the GOP nominee, saying Trump still maintains an upper hand.

Former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg also played with the idea of a Trump and Haley showdown, saying that a second-place finish for Haley in Iowa would put more pressure on DeSantis to drop out, making it a Trump and Haley faceoff in New Hampshire and the former ambassador’s home state of South Carolina.

“My view is that if Nikki Haley runs second [in Iowa], and hopefully a reasonable second, that’s a big plus for her. I think everyone expects Trump to win Iowa handily,” Gregg said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Trump currently leads by 28 points over Haley in the latest Iowa caucus poll, with a much slimmer 11-point lead over Haley in New Hampshire, according to a poll from the Hill

The highest-ranking Senate Republican to endorse Trump is Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), in addition to 19 other senators who have supported Trump ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Telegram
Tumblr