Schools

Iowa 'Split Decision' - Gap Comparable to Banning School Board Election Result

Romney was declared 'winner' late Jan. 3 but certified results released Thursday put Santorum in front by 34 votes. The margin is comparable to a decisive 30-vote difference in November's Banning Unified election for three seats on board of trustees.

Certified Iowa Caucus results released Thursday morning nullified an eight-vote "win" by Republican front-runner Mitt Romney and left Rick Santorum in front by 34 votes, two days before the South Carolina primary.

Party leaders in the prairie state called the certified tally a "split decision," the Des Moines Register reported.

The final margin is comparable - in number but not percentage - to a decisive 30-vote difference in from the November 2011 Banning Unified School District election for three seats on board of trustees.

Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Less than 10,000 votes were counted in the Banning Unified election, and each ballot allowed for three choices, while more than 120,000 turned out for the Iowa caucuses, according to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters and the Republican Party of Iowa.

Further complicating the Iowa outcome, results from eight precincts are missing and will never be recovered and certified, Republican Party of Iowa officials told The Des Moines Register on Wednesday.

Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The timing of the certified Iowa results, 48 hours ahead of the South Carolina primary, coincides with surging poll numbers in that state for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and is sure to focus more attention on Romney's ability to portray himself as Republicans' best bet to defeat President Barack Obama in November 2012.

After winning the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary by a convincing margin of more than 40,000 votes, Romney's campaign touted his record as 2-0 going into South Carolina. That narrative is no longer in play.


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