A surprising showing for Santorum

At 1:10 a.m. (12:10 Iowa time) the race for first place in the GOP caucuses was as tight as it could get: with 99 percent of the votes counted, presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney both had 25 percent of the vote, with Santorum leading by 18 votes. Ron Paul trailed with 21 percent.

Whether Santorum ends up squeaking a win or placing second to Romney by a tiny margin, his leap from single-digit bottom feeder to frontrunner was as dramatic as it gets. He now faces the inevitable media scrutiny (and comedians' mockery of his V-neck sweater vests), onslaught of negative campaign ads and the challenges of a low-budget operation without a strong organization in place in the coming primary states.

Jim O'Toole will head to New Hampshire today to join Tracie Mauriello, and Early Returns will continue to follow the fun with Rick and the rest of the gang.

 

Update: around 1:30 a.m., Mitt was ahead by one vote.

 

Update: around 1:40 a.m., Santorum regained the lead, with a four-vote margin.

 

Update: Fox and CNN both think they've figured out the missing precinct, and that Romney will win by 14 votes.

Update: At 2:34, Iowa officials announced Romney as the winner, by 8 votes.