After Iowa, Trump heads to New Hampshire with political wind at his back

Former President Donald Trump Tuesday is eyeing a with a victory in the New Hampshire primary next week after , analysts said Tuesday. Even as and 91 felony indictments, Trump proved in Iowa that has to dominate rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. Things will likely be a bit tougher for the MAGA leader in New Hampshire, where moderate and independent minded voters give Haley a shot at slowing Trump’s momentum.

But if Trump can win the Granite State, he would stake a claim as of the primary contest. “The results in Iowa were a dominant victory for Trump, and underscore how difficult it will be for any Republican candidate to defeat him,” said Jacob Rubashkin, an analyst with Inside Elections, said. “Sweeping Iowa and New Hampshire would show that Trump retains … more than enough support to finish well ahead of his rivals in different kinds of states,” and editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball.

Some naysayers pointed to the underwhelming nature of Trump’s win, with just other than the man who won the nomination the last two times. . That could suggest a lack of enthusiasm for Trump among some segments of the GOP electorate like college educated affluent suburbanites although also undoubtedly kept some people home.

But both of those arguments are mostly more relevant to a It’s hard to argue with a 30% victory margin, especially with Trump’s two main rivals vowing to at least as much as at him. Haley sought to project political strength Wednesday by vowing not to , meaning there may be no more Republican primary debates.

as a coward. Outspoken conservative entrepreneur of the race shortly after the Iowa results were called and endorsed Trump, while former Asa Hutchinson pulled the plug on his anemic campaign. The most striking thing about the Iowa result is how little anything has changed in the GOP race: for months now and he’s still cruising after Iowa.

Even though Haley finished third in Iowa, some still see a narrow path for her to scramble the race with a victory in New Hampshire, where of Trump. Haley, the former UN ambassador, would then have a month to pound Trump as a wounded leader in the run up to a face off in her home state of South Carolina at the end of February.

“If (Haley) is able to win New Hampshire, South Carolina will turn into a bloodbath over the 32 days between the contests,” said Alex Stroman, a veteran South Carolina Republican operative. So The Florida governor avoided what would have been a humiliating third place showing by edging out Haley in Iowa, for his once promising campaign.

But analysts questioned whether that result would do much more than buy time for DeSantis. After all, . He wound up getting in he Hawkeye State and is polling in single digits in New Hampshire. Conservative critics of Trump urged DeSantis to drop out, echoing to “leave the race and give Haley a chance to take on Trump one on one.” Even it Haley got that shot, the smart money says Trump would obliterate her in a head to head battle.

After all, Republican voters have backed him for president twice already. There are few signs they will abandon him now. “It’s been all over for several months,” Rubashkin said..