In one of the closest primary races in memory, it appears that it is Rick Santorum, and not Mitt Romney, who is the winner of the Iowa caucuses. Curiously, or maybe not so curiously, the GOP is calling a 34 vote win by Santorum a "split decision", while they called an apparent 8 vote advantage for Romney on election night a "Romney win". This seems to lend some credence to the thought that the GOP establishment has anointed Romney the nominee maybe even before the first primary was held. Regardless, this puts a bit of a dent in Romney's claim of having won the first two primary contests of the season, and being the "only candidate" who can defeat Obama. The question is whether Santorum will get a retroactive bump from this news, as voters may not now see a Romney candidacy as inevitable. Combine this with Rick Perry dropping out, and a possible exodus of Gingrich supporters due to his ex-wife's allegations, and Rick Santorum could have a better than expected showing in S. Carolina, with momentum going into Florida. Santorum would also do well to use this news as an opportunity to remind voters that Romney can be beat with a consistent message of conservative principles.
This race may just be heating up.
Final Count in Iowa: Santorum up 34 Votes over Romney--8 Precincts Will Never be Counted
(CNSNews.com) - Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney apparently did not win the Iowa caucuses after all. Former Sen. Rick Santorum -- who trailed by a mere 8 votes in the initial tally -- actually beat Romney by 34 votes, according to the certified vote totals.
The Des Moines Register broke the story at 7 a.m. Thursday, a few hours before the Iowa Republican Party planned to release the final numbers.
But -- in another twist -- the final numbers are not reliable, because eight Iowa precincts could not have their totals certified, the Register reported. A Republican party official told the newspaper, "It's a split decision."
No comments:
Post a Comment