Donald Trump won evangelicals’ votes through ‘transactional politics’

Church leaders in 2016 crafted a palatable Trump - in return, he gave them institutional power and a supreme court that overturned Roe

Iowa Republicans showed up 15 January in force for Donald Trump, voting overwhelmingly in the nation's first primary for the former president, whose grip on his party has only deepened as he weathers numerous lawsuits and 91 felony charges relating to his business dealings and involvement in attempts to overthrow the 2020 election. The Iowa caucuses confirmed polls that have consistently shown Trump carrying a comfortable lead ahead of the remaining Republican challengers.

Before the caucuses, Florida governor Ron DeSantis repeatedly reminded voters and the press that he had toured all of Iowa's 99 counties. Trump won 98 of them. With the exception of college graduates and voters under thirty, who for the most part caucused for DeSantis or former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, most other demographic groups reported strong support for Trump this year.