As expected the Iowa caucus results have disclosed a reshaped Republican presidential race, with Mitt Romney confirmed as favorite. However the surprise comes from Rick Santorum as the results show the beginning of a close battle between him and Mitt Romney.
For Mitt Romney, favorable Iowa caucus results mean increased chances of winning an early nomination. The former Massachusetts governor had significant worries that he might not win in the Iowa caucus, given last time’s results, when Mitt Romney lost in favor of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
Back in 2008, Romney invested a lot of his time and money, only to lose $10 million for basically nothing. This time, Romney had a different take. He kept his expectations low, did not lose a lot of time campaigning in Iowa, and the result was good enough: he won by 30,015 votes.
The surprise and potential threat for Romney came after Rick Santorum came in second, with a difference of only 8 votes. 30,007 people have chosen Rick Santorum as the Republican candidate they want to have for president. As Santorum pointed out, this means it’s “game on!”
Santorum is still unknown to the vast majority of Americans, but he has tried hard to become visible for Republicans, particularly Iowa’s large bloc of Christian conservatives. He campaigned in all Iowa’s 99 counties and presented his home-schooled children and opposition to gay marriage platform.
Third came in Ron Paul, with 21 percent support. At this third bid for the White House, Paul enjoyed some mass media coverage and a boost in polls for a little while. Newt Gingrich’s aggressive ad campaign got him fourth place in the Iowa caucus results.
But, the Iowa caucus results haven’t been all about the joy for the rest of the candidates. Rick Perry was so bummed out by the results that he might be considering dropping out of the race. “I’ve decided to return to Texas, to assess the results of tonight’s caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race”, he said after coming in fifth place.
For Michele Bachman the worst came to reality. She finished last, with 5 percent of the vote, but according to her statements, this is not the end. Bachman vowed to press on and continue her bid.
