As usual, the Iowa Caucus was one of the most anticipated events in the selection of the Republican party’s presidential nominee. The past two presidents, Obama and Bush Jr., began their presidential pursuits with Iowa Caucus wins, and the Republicans hope that this streak will continue.
Each politician and voter came into the Caucus with high hopes, but in the end there was only one winner…maybe; Mitt Romney had 25.6% of the votes and Rick Santorum had 25.6% of the votes. At the culmination of one of the closest races in history, Romney and Santorum seemed to have tied, before the Caucus recounted the votes.
After several anxious hours, Santorum accounted for 15,007 votes, while Romney accounted for 15,015 votes -a difference of only eight votes, eight actual human beings- who voted for Romney rather than Santorum. It was a stunning finish, which only shows how important this presidential campaign is for America.
Romney and Santorum were not, however, the only shocking headlines to come out of Iowa. Gingrich and Perry, both with strong supporters and showings in the preliminary debates, got 15% and 10% of the votes (4th and 5th places) respectively, putting a dent in the side of Gingrich’s campaign.
Another surprising result was Ron Paul taking third place with 21% of the votes. He and his supporters were excited to be in the top tier late in the race.
The losers of the Caucus were Bachman, Huntsman, and Perry. After the voting Bachman dropped out of the race and Perry planned to “reassess.” Huntsman, on the other hand, received a miserable amount of votes in the Caucus (totalling 1%) and the road ahead doesn’t look promising, either.
The next Caucuses will take place in New Hampshire and South Carolina, both of which will bring new light into who might grasp the Republican nomination.
