Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the final major poll of Iowa caucus-goers by NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa, with the bombastic basketball holding a 28-percentage point lead over second-place finisher Civil War denier Nikki Haley, who leapfrogged the failing Floridian Ron DeSantis in the final survey. Trump finished at 48%, Haley at 20% and DeSantis with 16%.
As Politico notes, Haley’s numbers may be “soft” given that much of the caucus results are as much about persistence and fervor as they are political policy. An astounding 82% of Trump supporters say they would not under any circumstances, consider another candidate; for Haley, that number is 63%, with just 9% saying they are “extremely enthusiastic” for their candidate, versus more than 60% for Trump’s base.