(CNN) – Seeking to put to rest any confusion, the Iowa Republican Party affirmed late Friday night that Rick Santorum took first place in the Iowa caucuses.
The group sent a statement in an effort to "clarify conflicting reports" after the state party released its certified results Thursday showing Santorum had edged rival Mitt Romney by 34 votes.
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Because the results from eight precincts were still missing, some reports in the news media suggested a real winner may never be known.
However, Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matthew Strawn and the State Central Committee officially on Friday called the election for Santorum in a statement, re-emphasizing its announcement from the previous day.
"In order to clarify conflicting reports and to affirm the results released ... by the Republican Party of Iowa, Chairman Matthew Strawn and the State Central Committee declared Senator Rick Santorum the winner of the 2012 Iowa Caucus," the statement read.
Original results from the contest on January 3 showed Romney had eked out a victory over Santorum by eight votes. The final results, however, were not certified until this week.
Romney called Santorum on Thursday to congratulate him.
– CNN's Shannon Travis and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
Also see:
Perry drops out, endorses Gingrich
Judge-drawn Texas redistricting map tossed out by Supreme Court
From CNN Politics
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It's too late and it's a shame Iowa lost its credibility as being the FIRST state. I truly believe they got caught up in the HYPE and wanted to be on the same page as NH. In reality, they robbed Santorum of a VICTORY that he could have enjoyed and it could have helped him more in NH and SC.
Oh well – Obama 2012 – those numbers will be right!!
After loosing the votes in 8 precincts, it doesn't matter who they say won the election, it's a complete charade and a kick in the face to all voters of this country.
The ONLY correct thing to do is to deny Iowa's delegates to participate in this years GOP National convention, as they can not be verified and were not ever certified.
It's not a question of if their was fraud, it's that there has to be the appearance the election was fair and that is not the case.
In the very least Iowa should definitely loose it's position as the first caucus primary in the county. They have failed miserably in the eyes of the nation and the world, making our election process look worse than the many struggling democracies around the globe that Americans so often protest as being unjust or unfair.
If the Republican National Committee does not stand up to this farce, it then itself becomes the director of deception, of misrepresentation, to the American people.
And the GOP want to run the country? Try running an election first.
Like ALL things Republican...I don't trust these latest results. First off, there is NO provision for a recount in the rules of the Iowa caucuses. So the rules were bent if not broken. Second, as far as the above article reveals, the "missing" precincts are still missing and were never counted in the final tally. Romney may have actually won the caucuses, if you consider the missing votes. It smells fishy to me.
Congratulations to a moral, intelligent leader with integrity. Would be much better for America than a socialist who's burdens our kids with 6+ trillion new debt in 3 years.
Republicans like saying that government is no good for anything and, of course, they should be the ones to run it. One just has to look at how well they run their primary campaign to understand what we get when we elect them.
They can't find the votes from 8 precients and everyone is acting like it is no big deal. Where did they go and why doesn't anyone care? And if anyone tries to say it's Obama's fault, I think I'm gonna throw up.
santorum is also a winner in vatican.
Honestly, what an embarrassment for Iowa. I know nobody actually cares about the Iowa caucus, but on a national stage, those in charge of and involved with the caucus failed in every conceivable way. For shame.
Its doesn't matter whether its Santorum or Gingrich but never Obama the Yes we can man. The economy is bad and now the latest nation to get US1 billion for free is Bangladesh. No way.
Never gonna happen....never, never, never.
of course. He is the most backward candidate of the big 4
yep. no santorum please. just the name is disgusting now. religious madman too.
Voter Fraud is rampant. I doubt any of the two mentioned actually won. What a sham and Iowas Vote Counters and in particular Strawn ought to be ashamed and embarrassed. Get your act together.
Iowa must be really bored. We don't care about what Iowa thinks. They'll lose eventually.
He did not win. There are whole precincts missing. The Iowa vote is a disgrace!
Ron Paul 2012!
If the results from eight precincts were still missing how can they declare a winner? This whole story sounds fishy.
What is Corporate America gonna do now that Mittens lost Iowa? I guess the propaganda show is over now?
Vote counting in America is disgraceful.
Iowa held their caucus on January 3rd 2012, reported Romney the winner on January 4th then changed the winner to Santorum on January 22nd. At that time the Republican Party of Iowa also stated that the results from 8 precincts were "missing". Due to the small number of votes between 1st and 2nd place and votes "missing" from 8 precincts it's very likely that the actual winner will never be known.
What has taken place in Iowa is reminiscent of the 2000 general election and the fiasco that took place in Florida and should be very disturbing to every American voter. People go to the polls sometimes having to wait in lines for a few hours, then later have to wonder if their vote will even be counted.
With the technology available to us, the citizens of every State must demand that their States put in place a voting procedure where in a caucus, primary or general election they know that their votes will be counted CORRECTLY in a TIMELY manner.
Makes no difference whatsoever. Santorum will be out in the next 30 days.
Very old news !!!!!!!!!!!!
Who really cares anyway? We should already know that the corporate run state has decided on Obama, after all, he's done such a fine job furthering their schemes. The clown show now showing on the right is a performance to demonstrate that "democracy", or should I say, our corporate plutocracy in action in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Iowa is a joke... The caucus should be turned into regular elections with voting booths and privacy so people can vote their real heart! The truth comes out in private! Oh well I guess they will have to leave it to SC to pick a nominee, but if this country is smart they would vote Obama 2012!
Good.
Such divisiveness is productive to the forces on the right of good.