Allamakee County caucus results give Paul slight edge over statewide winner Romney

The results of the Republican Party’s caucus held Tuesday, January 3 across Iowa were somewhat surprising to many, as former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney finished first with 30,015 votes, a mere eight votes ahead of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who had gained momentum in the polls just days before the caucuses. Texas Congressman Ron Paul also made a strong showing, finishing third with less than 4,000 fewer votes than Romney and Santorum. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich came in fourth with 16,251 votes, ahead of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s 12,604 votes and Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann’s 6,073 votes.
Paul fared much better in Allamakee County, finishing first with 157 votes (just two votes ahead of Romney), while Santorum fared much worse than he did statewide, finishing in fourth with 77 votes, five votes behind Gingrich. Perry received 28 votes from Allamakee County, and Bachmann garnered 18. One Allamakee County voter expressed “no preference.”
This year’s caucus turnout in Allamakee County of 518 Republican voters topped the record of 418 set during the 2008 caucus. Statewide, turnout to the Republican caucuses also edged upward, with 118,411 votes cast in 2008 and 121,684 votes cast in 2012.