Santorum takes Iowa/Perry drops
Rick Santorum just can't win.
Minutes after the Iowa GOP announced he edged out Mitt Romney in the final vote count (in uncertified numbers), Rick Perry announced he's dropping from the race. And maybe supporting Newt Gingrich. (UPDATE 11:20 a.m.: He is endorsing Gingrich.)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Rick Santorum edged front-runner Mitt Romney by 34 votes in a surprise flip to the final tally of the Iowa caucuses, but no winner will be declared because some votes remain missing in the event's closest finish ever, Republican officials said Thursday.
Romney had initially been considered the winner - by just 8 votes - of the first contest in the GOP presidential nomination contest.
Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn is scheduled to announce the certified vote totals Thursday morning. Republican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to pre-empt his announcement, said Strawn wouldn't declare a winner because some votes can't be counted. Votes from 8 of the state's 1,774 precincts are missing.
The good news for Santorum is he won those 8 precincts in election night counts. More on both of these stories through the day as we await a pivotal debate tonight on CNN.