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Mitt Romney won the first battle in the 2012 White House race in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, wresting Iowa from devout Christian conservative Rick Santorum by just eight votes. The result cemented Romney's status as the front-runner for the Republican nomination to take on President Barack Obama in November, but failed to dispel lingering doubts about the extent of his popularity. In one of the closest finishes in presidential campaign history, Romney trailed Santorum by four votes with one precinct left to report. But after an agonizing delay, the final votes turned things around and gave Romney a razor-thin 30,015 to 30,007 victory. "Congratulations to governor Mitt Romney, winner of the 2012 Iowa caucuses. Congratulations to Sen Santorum for a very close second-place finish, an excellent race here," Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn said. The result capped a remarkable performance by Santorum, written off a few weeks ago and now suddenly propelled into the top tier of candidates seeking the Republican crown to challenge Obama on Nov 6. "Game on," Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, told cheering supporters after his exhaustive months-long, on-the-ground campaign paid off. "You have taken the first step in taking back this country." The devout Catholic, who opposes abortion and contraception and has a hawkish foreign policy, took a shot at Romney's more centrist views, saying, "What wins in America are bold ideas, sharp contrasts." | 
