Election 2024: Trump wins Iowa caucuses, inches closer to presidential nomination

Former president Donald Trump secured a win at the Iowa caucus, the first Republican presidential election, taking him one step closer to a third consecutive nomination as a presidential candidate, Al Jazeera reported.

The results have come amidst several civil cases against him, going on to show his legal challenges have done little to dampen his support among the Republicans.

Trump is expected to appear in court in New York on Tuesday as a jury considers whether he should pay further damages to a writer who won a $5m jury award against him for sexual assault and defamation.

Trump surpassed former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to secure first place in the first step of the 2024 presidential race.

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are now fighting to secure the second position, The New York Times put DeStantis's chances at greater than 95%.

Many Republican voters in Iowa Cast Trump as the best candidate to address their concerns about the economy, record levels of refugee and migrant arrivals at the southern border, and global instability.

"We need something different than what we’re doing now. It’s not working. I was making more money than I ever have, and now I’m broker than I’ve ever been," David Brunell, a Trump supporter, told Al Jazeera before the caucuses. "That says a lot about where the economy is at."