Despite the fact that he’s currently trailing Ted Cruz in the Hawkeye State, Donald Trump isn’t particularly worried.
“Don’t worry; it’s just Iowa,” he said to supporters Tuesday morning, reports USA Today.
Now, to be fair, Trump went on to say that he “loves” Iowa and that he still thinks he’ll win when voters caucus on February 1. But recent history tells us that he may not actually need to worry about winning the first nominating contest in the nation.
The past two Iowa Republican caucus winners — Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum — have not been the GOP’s nominee come the summer. (Again, to be fair, Santorum barely eked out a win over eventual nominee Mitt Romney, who was initially declared the winner before a recount found Santorum had won by less than 50 votes.)
The New Hampshire primary, held just about a week after the Iowa caucuses, is more telling. Romney and John McCain both won in New Hampshire before going on to face Barack Obama in the general. Trump currently has a commanding lead in the New Hampshire polls.