Santorum edges out Romney in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum received 34 more votes than rival Mitt Romney in Iowa but can't officially be declared the winner, officials said.

Iowa Republican Party officials declared a tie between the two men Thursday, saying results from eight of Iowa's 1,774 precincts are missing and will never be recovered.

Preliminary results from the Jan. 3 caucuses had put Romney eight votes ahead of Santorum but certified tallies submitted to state GOP officials by Wednesday's deadline showed Santorum with the lead -- 29,839 votes to 29,805.

With about 122,000 votes cast during the caucuses, the margin of victory is only a fraction of a percent, The Washington Post said.

Santorum's apparent victory will have little impact on his battle to win the nomination but the results do mean Romney can no longer claim to have won both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, the newspaper said.

Iowa GOP officials reported inaccuracies were found in 131 precincts, including one precinct where the corrected tally shifted 50 votes from Santorum to Romney, The Des Moines Register reported.

"On Tuesday night, Romney was up 24 votes. Then at noon Wednesday, Santorum was up by only three votes. The six precincts that happened to come in next boosted Santorum to a 34-vote lead," the newspaper said.

Iowa GOP executive director Chad Olsen said it appears the necessary forms never existed for the eight missing precincts and there is no chance the numbers from those precincts ever will be certified. As far as who won that night, "It's a split decision," The Des Moines Register quoted Olsen as saying.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, acknowledged Thursday the results leave him in a virtual tie with the former Pennsylvania senator.

The certified numbers released Thursday by the Iowa Republican Party: Rick Santorum 29,839; Mitt Romney 29,805; Ron Paul 26,036; Newt Gingrich 16,163; Rick Perry 12,557; Michele Bachmann 6,046; Jon Huntsman 739; No Preference 147; Herman Cain 45; Other 40.