Trump crushed all of his opponents by winning 652 votes from local caucus-goers.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis placed second with 158 votes.

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, was third with 93 votes.

Vivek Ramaswamy won 69 votes and little-known Ryan Binkley won eight votes.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Webster County Republican Party Chairman Jim Oberhelman, center in blue jacket, leads a meeting of one of the precincts in the gym at Fort Dodge Senior High School during the party caucus Monday evening.

About 2,000 people filled the gym at Fort Dodge Senior High School for the caucus. That’s almost as many as attended a November campaign appearance there by Trump.

At times, Monday’s caucus seemed like a Trump rally. Mere mention of the former president’s name drew long and loud applause from the crowd.

State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, spoke on behalf of Trump. He described the former president as “a true patriot, a tried and trusted leader.”

He said that three years ago when Trump left office, inflation was reasonable, crime was low and the nation’s southern border was under control. Kraayenbrink invited the group to compare those conditions to today.

Later, Kraayenbrink was asked what makes Trump so popular locally.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
About 2,000 people filled the gym at Fort Dodge Senior High School Monday evening for the Webster County Republican caucus.

“No. 1, everything that he campaigned on, he did,” the senator replied.

“If he would have not had opposition in Congress, even from members of his own party, he would have gotten a lot more done,” he said.

State Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, spoke on behalf of DeSantis, whom she called the “one true conservative in the race.”

“When Ron Desantis is our president, he’ll secure the border and he actually has a plan to pay for building the wall,” Meyer said.

Steve Larson spoke on behalf of Ramaswamy. He challenged those present to vote for a cause rather than a man.

“Vivek is our last chance to make sure the America First movement outlives Trump,” he said.

Webster County results

Donald Trump – 652

Ron DeSantis – 158

Nikki Haley – 93

Vivek Ramaswamy – 69

Ryan Binkley – 8

Write-ins – 2