After hours of delays, Romney earns 8-vote victory over Santorum

In the end, it might as well be called a tie.

Technically, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney snuck by Rick Santorum, the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, by just eight voters, according to a statement from the Iowa Republican Party. Romney won a see-saw Iowa Caucus on Tuesday night — the first election in the race to become the Republican presidential nominee against President Barack Obama.

Santorum and Romney each wound up with about 25 percent of the vote, 30,015 for Romney to 30,007 for Santorum. Romney and Santorum traded the top line all night. 

The last votes, from Clinton County, were reported before 8 p.m., a county official said on CNN, but the state Republican Party did not have them until after 1 a.m. central time. The final tally was reported just before 1:35 a.m..

See county-by-county results from WNYC.org.

Romney's strongest support came along the east and west side of Iowa, as well as in and around Des Moines. Santorum's support came over the broadest swath of the state, especially in the rural, agricultural parts of the state. The race see-sawed back and forth until the final votes came in.

Romney Edges Santorum in Iowa
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