Prominent pollster Rasmussen says GOP presidential primary over, Trump will be nominee

Prominent pollster and political analyst Scott Rasmussen said Tuesday the 2024 GOP presidential nominating process is over – following former President Donald Trump's decisive win the night before in the Iowa caucuses.  

"The race is over," Rasmussen said on the "John Solomon Reports" podcast, after Trump won 51% percent of the caucus ballots and 98 of 99 precincts."Not only was it that the former president topped 50%, there was no clear second place." 

To be sure, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with 21.2% and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley finished third with 19.1%.

"You know, if it had been Trump with 40, DeSantis with 30 and Haley with 20, well, then I can say maybe something's going on here," Rasmussen also said. "But there's no clear second choice."

Trump won the Iowa caucus with the largest margin in GOP history.

The next GOP primary contest takes place in New Hampshire on Jan. 23.

According to Rasmussen, a big issue for voters in upcoming primary states is going to be securing the southern U.S. border, which was a big campaign issue that Trump ran on in 2016.

"We think of national security as what happens overseas and foreign policy matters," he said. "But truthfully, it's right here at home. So that's where it was with these voters. I think there's also a frustration that the elite politicians just aren't treating this seriously."