Earlier today the Iowa caucuses results were officially classified as a tie, despite Rick Santorum coming in 34 votes ahead of oppoent Mitt Romney in final vote tallies. After Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn took some heat for calling a Santorum lead of 34 votes a "tie" after he called a Romney lead of 8 votes a "win" the day after the caucuses, Strawn is officially declaring Santorum the winner.
Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn says Rick Santorum is the winner of the Iowa Caucus. Period.
After the Republican Party of Iowa released the final certified results Thursday morning with eight missing precincts, Strawn released a statement saying he wanted to congratulate both "Senator Santorum and Governor Romney on a hard-fought effort during the closest contest in caucus history.” The press release specifically did not state a specific winner of the Jan 3. Caucus, rather implying it was a tie.
But this afternoon, Strawn went on WHO Radio in Iowa and announced there should be no “ambiguity,” that Santorum is, in fact, the winner.
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"Certified results show Rick Santorum leading or won by 34 votes,” Strawn told Jan Mickelson, noting that he needed to apologize to Santorum for any misunderstanding.
The switch of views comes just hours after a prominent Iowa Republican, Craig Robinson, called for Strawn’s removal as chairman.
The announcement means the following:
Iowa winner: Santorum
New Hampshire Winner: Romney
South Carolina: To be determined Saturday
UPDATE: Romney called to concede.
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