The Republican Party of Iowa said it was "disappointing and concerning" that media outlets announced that former President Donald Trump had won the state's caucuses soon after they began.
Trump secured a resounding Iowa win Monday night in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest, asserting his command over the party.
Many media outlets said Trump had won the Iowa caucuses after about 300 votes of the more than 100,000 had been reported, Iowa's News Now reported.
"Media outlets calling the results of the 2024 First-in-the-Nation Caucus less than half an hour after precinct caucuses had been called to order — before the overwhelming majority of Iowans had even cast their ballot — was highly disappointing and concerning," Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann said Tuesday morning in a statement posted on X.
"One of the key differences between the Iowa Caucus and a standard primary election is that Iowans have the chance to listen to presidential candidates or their surrogates and deliberate to make an informed decision.
"There was no need to rush one of the most transparent, grassroots democratic processes in the country."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who finished a distant second behind Trump in Iowa, accused the media of "election interference" after several outlets projected Trump had won just 30 minutes after caucusing began.
"It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote," DeSantis Communications Director Andrew Romeo said in a statement, National Review reported. "The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet."
The Associated Press, Fox News, NBC, and CNN all declared Trump the winner of the Iowa caucuses around 7:30 p.m. CT.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the AP followed a longstanding policy on when to project a winner.
Voters must be present by 7 p.m. local time, when the caucus doors close. The wire service considers that moment the equivalent of polls closing.
In 2020, the AP projected Trump as the winner after 25 minutes, the Times added.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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