Romney Wins Iowa Caucuses By 8 Votes Over Santorum; Paul Finishes Third

Mitt Romney lost the support he had four years ago in huge swaths of rural Iowa but managed to win big in the state's largest population centers to claim victory by a mere eight votes over Rick Santorum in the closest GOP race in the storied history of the Iowa caucuses. Ron Paul finished a strong third.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who finished a poor fifth, behind former U.S. Speaker Newt Gingrich, said he would return home to "assess the results," political speak for his probably decision to drop out of the race.

Iowa native Michele Bachmann, who failed to win even one of the state's 99 counties, finished in sixth, just ahead of Jon Huntsman, who did not compete.

In percentages, the results showed Romney and Santorum with 25 percent each, Paul with 21, Gingrich with 13, Perry with 10 and Bachmann with 5. Jon Huntsman, who did not campaign in Iowa, had 1 percent.

by Patch Iowa regional editor, Todd Richisson.