It may be an absurd way to pick a candidate, but the Iowa caucus is now complete, and Mitt Romney has won by eight votes: his 30,015 to 30,007 for Rick Santorum, out of 122,255 votes cast.
There won’t be a fight over a recount, because of course the results don’t really matter. Caucus results are not binding on Iowa delegates to the GOP convention, and less than 20% of Iowa Republican voters took part in the caucus anyway.
That said, Romney and Rick Santorum came out winners. The big loser is probably Rick Perry, who has canceled planned stops in South Carolina and is headed back to Texas to “assess the results.” He got just over 10% of the vote. Herman Cain, who had suspended his campaign, finished dead last, behind “No Preference” and “Other.”
The final Iowa Caucus results:
Mitt Romney: 30,015 votes / 24.6 %
Rick Santorum: 30,007 votes / 24.5%
Ron Paul: 26,219 votes / 21.4%
Newt Gingrich: 16,251 votes / 13.3%
Rick Perry: 12,604 votes / 10.3%
Michele Bachmann: 6,073 votes / 5%
Jon Huntsman: 745 votes / 0.6%
No Preference: 135 votes / 0.1%
Other: 117 votes / 0.1%
Herman Cain: 58 votes / 0%
Learn more about the 2012 Candidates »
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