Caucus Tracker: Mitt Romney wins Iowa caucus by 8 votes

from The Des Moines Register.

Rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum waged a down-to-the-wire battle for the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday, but shortly after 1:30 a.m. today, Romney was declared the victor by eight votes.

Romney won 30,015 votes [24.6%], compared with 30,007 for Santorum [24.5%], out of 122,255 cast.

Each of the men won 25 percent of the vote and proclaimed victory.

Ron Paul was third [21.4%], followed by Newt Gingrich [13.3%], Rick Perry [10.3%], Michele Bachmann [5%] and Jon Huntsman [0.6%].

Romney’s campaign strategists had carefully staged expectations to persuade the public and media that the former Massachusetts governor could emerge strongly from Iowa with a close second- or third-place finish.

He campaigned here about a fourth as much as during his first presidential bid four years ago, when he finished second in Iowa. But Romney managed to capture the top prize anyway.

His victory capped one of the most tumultuous presidential caucus campaigns that Iowa has witnessed.

Read the full article from The Des Moines Register.
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