New Winner In Iowa Caucuses - KWQC-TV6 News and Weather For The Quad Cities -

New Winner In Iowa Caucuses

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Iowa Republican Party Caucuses in Des Moines, Jan. 3, 2012 Iowa Republican Party Caucuses in Des Moines, Jan. 3, 2012

(AP) - Who won the Iowa caucuses? There's a different answer to that question today. The state party had declared Mitt Romney the winner by 8 votes over Rick Santorum on the night of the caucuses. But Republican officials now say the final tally shows Santorum in front by 34 votes.

They're not declaring a winner, because some votes are still missing.

GOP Chairman Matt Strawn says he's congratulating both Santorum and Romney, as he did the day after Iowa's caucuses. Strawn describes it as "the closest contest in caucus history."

In a statement, Romney praised Santorum's "strong performance" in Iowa, but called the results a "virtual tie."

Santorum and other candidates are looking to chip away at the front-running Romney's dominance over the field when South Carolina primary voters go to the polls Saturday.

 Some of the missing ballots are out of Lee County, Iowa. Find out what party officials think happened to them of the evening news.