Donald Trump romped to a lightning-quick victory Monday in Iowa’s caucuses — the first vote in the US presidential race — cementing his status as the presumptive Republican standard-bearer to challenge President Joe Biden in November’s election.
The former president has led polling for more than a year, but the contest was seen as the clearest insight yet into whether he can convert his advantage into a stunning White House return.
Major US networks took just 30 minutes to project the winner, with Trump opening up an unprecedented 32-point lead over second-placed Ron DeSantis over the following hour or so.
The Florida governor and Trump’s other main rival — former UN ambassador Nikki Haley — appeared to be locked in a tussle for the runner-up spot at around 20 and 19 percent respectively.
There had been questions as to whether Trump might have been hamstrung by…
