Romney Wins Iowa, New Hampshire Next—306 days until Election Day

On the road to the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney narrowly won the first battle on Tuesday: the Iowa Caucuses. Romney edged Rick Santorum by a mere eight votes. The final count showed Romney winning 30,015 votes to Santorum’s 30,007 — or 24.6 percent to 24.5 percent. Ron Paul finished in third with 21.4 percent. Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann and Jon Huntsman finished in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh slots, respectively. Historically, disappointing finishes in Iowa lead to campaigns closing shop. This year’s caucuses were no different. As a result of her sixth place finish, Michelle Bachmann announced her decision to end her bid for the White House on Wednesday. Interestingly enough, however, the Iowa Caucuses deliver no actual delegates for the Republican nomination — the state’s 25 delegates to the Republican convention will be awarded by a state convention in June. That said, the event generates incalculable momentum for the winners going into New Hampshire. Current polls for that primary, held on Tuesday, Jan. 10, forecast a victory for Mitt Romney. However, the energy behind Rick Santorum’s finish in Iowa may allow him to gain ground. AGC PAC continues to closely monitor the race ahead. For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at 202-547-5013 or christiansonj@agc.org.