We will post updates and comments here. Feel free to post your thoughts as well.
12:31 PM ET. Ridiculous. Rick up by 5 votes with 98% reporting. It is a tie.
12:25 AM ET. Santorum: Cutting taxes and spending is not enough.
12:20 AM ET. Rick thanks his wife, God, and Iowa. In that order! Rick down by 60 votes with 98% reporting.
12:02 AM ET. Rick up by 37 votes. Craaaazy.
11:58 PM ET. In an emotional concession speech, sounds like Rick Perry is getting out.
11:42 PM ET. Rick Santorum up by 109 with 96% reporting. He might just pull this off!!
11:37 PM ET. Thousands of people who just watched Newt’s concession just remembered why they used to not like him.
Santorum up by 70 votes with 95% in. Amazing.
11:23 PM ET. 93% in. Santorum by a nose hair.
11:20 PM ET. Doink! Gingrich compliments Santorum “Wish I could say that about all the candidates.” He be hatin’ on Romney.
11:16 PM ET. Holy crap. 13 vote difference.
11:07 PM ET. With 89% reporting, Romney by 125 votes. Wow.
11:02 PM ET. Bye Bye Boing Boing.
10:53 Pm ET. Even tighter!!! With 87% reporting….
Santorum 26,443 25%
Romney 26,398 25%
Paul 22,728 22%
10:45 PM ET. Via Fox with 79% reporting…
Romney 24,626 25%
Santorum 24,134 25%
Paul 21,002 22%
10:27 PM ET. With 49% reporting…
Santorum 13,594 25%
Romney 13,204 24%
Paul 12,205 22%
10:21 PM. Let’s face it. All these candidates are just competing to be on the ticket with Marco Rubio.
10:18 PM ET. Hey Rick, prepare yourself for non-stop comparisons to Mike Huckabee starting in 3, 2, 1….
10:15 PM ET. Newt Gingrich blames all the negative ads for his poor showing in Iowa. Maybe so, Gingrich is his own negative ad.
9:56 PM ET. I wonder if the 11 people who voted for Cain are ex-girlfriends? Sorry…
9:53 PM ET. Dead heat continues. Gonna be a long night.
9:29 PM ET Boing-Boing 23%, Romney 23%, Santorum 23%
9:27 PM ET: Via Weasel Zippers. Over 50% of those under age of 30 are going for Ron Paul.
Ah, to be young and stu….
9:25PM ET. via NRO
Johnston, Iowa — As he reviews early returns, here on the second-floor of the Stoney Creek Inn, Mike Biundo, Rick Santorum’s campaign manager, is pleased with what he is hearing. The data, and especially the phone-call anecdotes, coming out of western Iowa, long expected to be Santorum Country, are strong. If Santorum can perform ably in the Catholic towns in the Northeast, and generate good numbers in more populated central Iowa, it could be quite the night for the former Pennsylvania senator.
January 4, 2012 at 3:32 am
Mixed feelings about tonight as Perry is my first choice over Santorum, but I'd be happy with a Santorum nomination as my consolation prize. I almost would have preferred a Ron Paul victory just to make Iowa completely irrelevant.
January 4, 2012 at 4:57 am
Whooo Hoooo!!!! Go Rick Santorum!!!
January 4, 2012 at 5:00 am
Well, if Perry drops out, then I'm all aboard the Santorum express.
January 4, 2012 at 5:14 am
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January 4, 2012 at 5:46 am
We'd be glad to have you Paul Z! Go Santorum!
January 4, 2012 at 6:32 am
A big Texas Aggie "Whoop!" for Rick Santorum!!! Love the new banner and tagline on the homepage too!
January 4, 2012 at 6:38 am
Just read that Sen. McCain will endorse Romney tomorrow. Is that good for Romney or Santorum?
January 4, 2012 at 7:01 am
Hip-hip-hooray for Rick! You done good! I'm in the tank for Rick, too!
January 4, 2012 at 8:05 am
aHHHH Rick is in 2nd place by eight… can you believe it eight votes! It's essentially a tie so on to the next caucus. Rick Santorum's "Thank You" video is awesome, watch in it fox. Congratulations!
January 4, 2012 at 11:39 am
YEAH! It is unbelievable, but GO SANTORUM!.
January 4, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Romney wins, of course, and as I've known all along, Romney is guaranteed to be the Republican nominee. This party simply refuses to nominate anyone other than typical establishment, big-government, status quo neo-cons like Romney, which is exactly why I'm done with this party. I saw a bumper sticker the other day which sums it up perfectly: It had the word "Republican" with a big "X" through it and above it, the word "Conservative". My sentiments exactly. The Repubs can keep their lame excuses for presidential candidates. Obama is one of the worst presidents in history and the Republicans are going to hand him a re-election due to their utter refusal to nominate even a halfway decent candidate. If that's not an indication that this party has crumbled into worthlessness, I don't know what is. At this point I hope the Republican party just dies entirely to make room for the rise of a party that's actually worth something. I'm voting Libertarian from here on out.
January 4, 2012 at 1:19 pm
"This party simply refuses to nominate anyone other than typical establishment, big-government, status quo neo-cons like Romney…"
The voters have been trying. But none of the other candidates (Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich) that actually ran have actually stuck, because they're all deeply flawed in some way. Too many good ones decided to sit this one out.
January 4, 2012 at 2:11 pm
This party simply refuses to nominate anyone other than typical establishment, big-government, status quo neo-cons like Romney,
Romney won one caucus by a handful of votes. Let's stop with the sky is falling act until he's the nominee – which he won't be.
January 5, 2012 at 4:08 am
"Romney won one caucus by a handful of votes. Let's stop with the sky is falling act until he's the nominee- which he won't be."
Paul, I really wish you were right. Unfortunately, I'm quite positive, and have been for some time, that you are not. I'm not sure what indicators you've seen in the recent past that have given you any hope in the Republican party in terms of the quality of its Presidential nominees. Did you hear today that Romney endorsed himself?… otherwise reported as McCain endorsing Romney? It's the same thing all over again so there is no difference. The more frustrating thing is that this appalling routine in the Republican party is so set in stone that it's 100% predictable. The Repubs are always guaranteed to have establishment, big-government, neo-cons for presidential nominees.
Not only is the party too far gone, but the country is too far gone, also. We are sitting on one of the worst presidents in American history and he is going to be re-elected. What does that say? If that's not disturbing I'm not quite sure what is. In 1980, the public was at least wise enough to give Carter the boot. Obama is worse but he will still win. We have headed down the path to ruin.