The AP called the race at 9:40 p.m. with 56 percent of votes counted in unofficial results. Trump stands at 55.8 percent and Harris at 42.8 percent as of 9:45 p.m. in Iowa. Results have not yet been finalized.

Many election forecasters predicted that Trump would win Iowa again in 2024, after he won the state in 2016 and 2020. But in the final days before the election, the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll published Saturday found that Harris gained an unanticipated lead over Trump, with 47 percent of likely voters in the poll saying they support the Vice President while 44 percent supported Trump.

Independent women and women age 65 or older were shown in the poll to support Harris over Trump by large margins, indicating that these voter groups could be the edge needed to secure Democrats’ victory in 2024 elections.

Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann came to the stage at the GOP Election Night watch party in Des Moines before the AP called the race to declare that Iowa had given Trump a win “we always knew was going to happen.”

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM —Autumn Drewelowe checks a voter in on election day at the Marshalltown Public Library.

“Our people knew that Iowa was going to be for Trump, and then we got this outlier that was not double checked, that was professional malpractice,” Kaufmann said. “So let’s say it one more time … Donald Trump won Iowa.”

Trump initially entered the 2024 election with strong assurance of Iowa GOP support, dominating the 2024 Republican caucuses in January against contenders like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

But Trump was not the only presidential candidate who spent significant time in Iowa. Though Harris became the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee in August shortly after President Joe Biden announced ending his reelection campaign, both Democrats spent time in the state for the 2020 Democratic caucuses.

However, neither Biden or Harris saw major enthusiasm in 2020 coming from the former first-in-the-nation state. Harris withdrew her bid for the nomination in December 2019, before the Iowa caucuses. Biden, who went on to become the Democratic nominee, came in fourth place in the caucuses, behind now-U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Because of issues with reporting results from the 2020 caucuses, as well as criticisms of issues like a lack of diversity, the Democratic nominating calendar changed beginning in 2024. Iowa Democrats held its first mail-in caucuses this year with results released on Super Tuesday in March, overwhelmingly supporting Biden for reelection.

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM —Poll worker Theresa Walton greets a voter at the Iowa Veterans Home location, and tells them identification is necessary to cast a ballot. Before noon on election day, 422 voters cast their ballots at IVH.

As the 2024 general election approached, Iowa did not see the surge of visits from presidential candidates or surrogates to Iowa that nearby states like Wisconsin and Michigan – swing states – saw, as both major parties predicted that Trump would easily win in the state. However, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart predicted that Harris replacing Biden at the top of ticket would make Iowa more competitive than initially expected.

While Trump did not visit Iowa following the January caucuses, many Iowa Republicans have joined the former president on the campaign trail in other states. Elected officials like U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson have held events supporting Trump and other GOP candidates in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia in the weeks ahead of Nov. 5. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention in July, holding significant nominating roles during the event.

Iowa voters vary in enthusiasm for the candidates

Vicky Scott, 73, said that she has been a supporter of Trump since he was on “The Apprentice” and wanted to return to Trump’s tenure in office, calling it the “best four years of my life.”

“I always thought to myself, you know, ‘that guy needs to run for president someday,” Scott said. “I don’t like politicians, and he wasn’t one, and he has never been one. … The day he walked down the elevator was probably the best day of my life, because I thought to myself, ‘Oh, my God, it came true, my wish came true.’ Yeah, so that four years was phenomenal.”

A large group of Third Ward voters fills out their ballots at Our Savior on Tuesday.

Some Trump voters weren’t always on board with him.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY —A voter leaves Marshalltown’s newest polling place, Our Savior Lutheran Church, amidst a surge late Tuesday morning. Our Savior replaced the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center (MACC) as the Third Ward voting location earlier this year

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY —Mya Naing, right, shows his ID before voting at Redeemer Lutheran Church.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY —Cindy Brodin, working the polls at Redeemer Lutheran Church, gives a big thumbs up on Tuesday morning.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY —Poll worker Don Boehler, right, helps Cole Danielson, left, feed his ballot into the tabulation machine at the Iowa Veterans Home on Tuesday.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY —Poll worker David Grieve, right, rewards Tucker Wedgwood with an “I Voted” sticker for completing his civic duty at the Marshalltown Public Library on Tuesday morning.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY —The Marshalltown Public Library had a steady stream of First Ward voters coming through its doors Tuesday morning.