Breaking: Final result gives Mitt Romney an 8-vote win in Iowa caucuses [View all]

[Fearless]

Last edited Wed Jan 4, 2012, 03:49 AM - Edit history (14)

Reporting from Manchester and Des Moines—

In the closest finish in the history of the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum wound up in a virtual dead heat in the first battle for the Republican presidential nomination, with Romney emerging as the apparent winner by a margin of just eight votes.

When results from the last of the state's 1,774 precincts were tallied Wednesday morning, Romney had 30,015 votes to Santorum's 30,007.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-final-results-iowa-caucuses-20120103,0,787630.story

Final Results (2:41am):

With all precincts reporting Romney has beaten out Santorum by 8 votes.

Romney: 30,015 (24.6198%)
Santorum: 30,007 (24.6133%)
Paul: 26,219 (21.5061%)
Gingrich: 16,251 (13.3299%)
Perry: 12,604 (10.3384%)
Bachmann: 6,073 (4.9814%)
Huntsman: 745 (0.6111%)

Total Votes Cast: 121914 (as counted by 2:26am EST)


http://www.wnyc.org/articles/its-free-country/2012/jan/03/patchwork-vote-iowa/

Romney and Santorum are deadlocked in Iowa caucuses; Paul finishes third
(Washington Post)

DES MOINES — Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) were deadlocked for the lead in the Iowa caucuses late Tuesday night, ahead in a splintered and increasingly fractious field as the GOP presidential primary race moves to New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

With all 99 percent of precincts reporting shortly before 2 a.m. Eastern, former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) was in a virtual tie with Romney, leading him by just four votes. Both hovered around 24.5 percent of the total.

Santorum and Romney Fight to a Draw
(New York Times)
...

In the first Republican contest of the season, the two candidates were separated by only a sliver of votes. The outcome offered Mr. Santorum a chance to emerge as the alternative to Mr. Romney as the race moves to New Hampshire and South Carolina without Gov. Rick Perry, who announced that he was returning to Texas to assess his candidacy.

CNN confirms vote count...

http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/primaries/state/ia?hpt=hp_pc1

----------------------------------------

4 votes between Santorum and Romney at 226am EST! Crazy! 121,000+ votes cast in all!