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Republican presidential front-runner and former President Donald Trump appears Jan. 15, 2024, at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP) Republican presidential front-runner and former President Donald Trump appears Jan. 15, 2024, at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP)

Republican presidential front-runner and former President Donald Trump appears Jan. 15, 2024, at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP)

Amy Sherman
By Amy Sherman January 16, 2024

Trump said he won the Iowa caucus three times. Wrong. He lost to Ted Cruz in 2016

If Your Time is short

  • Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas won the 2016 Iowa Republican caucus. Donald Trump finished second.

  • In 2020, Trump won about 97% of the vote in the Iowa caucus. He faced a weak challenge from former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. In 2024, Trump won the Iowa caucus with about 51% of the vote.

  • Learn more about PolitiFact’s fact-checking process and rating system.

After former President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucus by a landslide, he distorted his record on past Hawkeye State losses and wins.

"This is the third time we’ve won but this is the biggest win," he told his supporters Jan. 15 after The Associated Press and several cable news channels called the caucuses for Trump.

Trump is wrong. He has won the Iowa caucus twice — and 2020 was not a competitive contest.

Trump lost to Ted Cruz in 2016

In 2016, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas finished first in the Iowa caucus with about 27.6% of the vote. Trump finished second with 24.3% and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida finished third with 23.1%. Headed into the caucus, Trump was ahead of Cruz in the polls.

Initially, Trump congratulated Cruz.

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"We finished second," he said in a speech after the caucus. "And I want to tell you something, I’m just honored. I’m really honored. And I want to congratulate Ted (Cruz)."

But two days later, Trump tweeted several times, blaming Cruz’s win on fraud.

In one tweet, Trump wrote, "Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified." 

In another: "Cruz did not win Iowa, he stole it." 

Trump’s claims followed reports that Cruz supporters spread false rumors that a third candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, had suspended his campaign amid voting.

Iowa Rep. Steve King, a national co-chairman of Cruz’s campaign, wrote on Twitter the evening of the caucus: "Looks like (Carson) is out. ... Skipping NH & SC is the equivalent of suspending. Too bad this information won’t get to all caucus goers." Carson, who would later serve as  Housing and Urban Development secretary under Trump, called the comments "dirty tricks" and Cruz apologized, calling it a "mistake."

When Cruz was asked in 2016 about Trump’s comments in a New Hampshire news conference, Cruz said Trump was someone who "finds it very hard to lose." When Trump loses, "he blames everybody else. It’s never Donald’s fault," Cruz said. 

The Des Moines Register newspaper reported that former Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn called Trump’s claims of voter fraud "an absurd allegation."

A 2019 book, "American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump," by journalist Tim Alberta, reported that Trump urged Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann to invalidate the the 2016 caucuses’ results. 

We emailed the Iowa Republican Party about Trump’s statement after the 2024 caucus and received no response.

Trump faced no serious primary opposition in 2020 

In 2020, as the incumbent president, Trump faced no viable Republican challenger. Trump won 97.1% of the vote in the Iowa caucus while former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld won 1.3%. 

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Weld, who led Massachusetts in the 1990s, ran as the vice presidential candidate on Gary Johnson’s libertarian ticket in 2016. He launched his long shot campaign against Trump in 2019, giving Republicans who were moderate or disliked Trump another option. Weld suspended his campaign in March 2020.

Fast forward to 2024: On Jan. 15, Trump won Iowa with about 51% followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with about 21% and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley with 19%. 

These numbers show that Trump had his biggest win in 2020 — not in 2024. But 2020 was not a real contest for Trump.

Our ruling

Trump said of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucus that "this is the third time we’ve won but this is the biggest win."

Trump did not explain how he arrived at his statement. By sheer numbers, however, he’s incorrect.

Trump has twice won Iowa in the primaries — in 2020 and in 2024. In 2016, he finished second to Cruz.

In 2020, Trump captured 97% of the vote against a nominal challenger to win. The Jan. 15 caucus awarded the former president about 51% of the vote. 

We rate his statement False. 

RELATED: Nearly 1,000 fact-checks of Donald Trump

RELATED: Yes, Donald Trump claimed fraud after the 2016 Iowa caucuses

Our Sources

C-SPAN, Donald Trump Iowa speech, Jan. 15, 2024

The Hill, Trump: Cruz cheated in Iowa, new vote needed, Feb. 3, 2016

New York Times, Saying Cruz Stole His Caucus Victory Via Fraud, Trump Calls for Do-Over, Feb. 4, 2016

AP, Trump calls for Iowa election do-over, Feb. 4, 2016

CNN, Republican caucus results in Iowa, February 2016

Wall Street Journal, Republican caucus results in Iowa in 2016, Jan. 15, 2024

New York Times, Iowa Caucus Results, Feb. 1, 2016

CBS, Donald Trump "honored" by his second-place finish in Iowa, Feb. 2, 2016

Real Clear Politics, Iowa Republican presidential caucus, Feb. 1, 2016

Associated Press, "Here’s the reality behind Trump’s claims about mail-in voting," by Nicholas Riccardi, Sept. 30, 2020

MSNBC.com, "When it comes to Iowa, Trump throws stones from a glass house," by Steve Benen, Feb. 4, 2020

Various 2020 posts by Twitter users

Donald Trump Twitter posts

Ted Cruz Twitter posts

Foxnews.com, "Cruz insists Trump ‘still has a path to victory,’ vote count lawsuits could ‘easily’ reach Supreme Court" by Evie Fordham, Nov. 8, 2020

CrowderBits on YouTube, "Ted Cruz Breaks Down The Election Legal Battle | Louder with Crowder" by Steven Crowder, Nov. 11, 2020

Frank Martin Twitter posts 

The New York Times, Iowa Caucus Results, 2016

The New York Times, "Donald Trump Says Ted Cruz Stole Victory in Iowa Caucuses" by Maggie Haberman and Matt Flegenheimer, Feb. 3, 2020

The Des Moines Register, "Trump: Cruz ‘stole’ victory in Iowa caucuses" by Matthew Patane, Feb. 3, 2020

The Quad-City Times, "Would Iowa Republican Party toss caucus results? No, Paul Pate says" by Erin Murphy, July 14, 2019

Iowa PBS, "Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate," July 12, 2019

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More by Amy Sherman

Trump said he won the Iowa caucus three times. Wrong. He lost to Ted Cruz in 2016

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