Rick Santorum Might Have Actually Won the Iowa Caucuses

In a bit of revisionist history, Rick Santorum could be declared the official winner of the Iowa caucuses this week. Although the contest took place over two weeks ago, the Iowa state GOP has still not officially certified the winner, but they have promised to complete the process by the end of this week.

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The controversy surrounding Mitt Romney's eight-vote win centers on the small, southeastern Iowa town of Moulton in Appanoose County. According to KCCI in Des Moines, the caucus of 53 people that took place in Moulton on Jan. 3 could swing the state's contest in favor of Rick Santorum.

Edward True, a 28-year-old Ron Paul supporter, participated in the Moulton caucus and helped tally the votes on a piece of paper: Santorum 21, Perry 13, Paul 7, Gingrich 6, Bachmann 3, Romney 2, and Huntsman 1. The totals were sent to the county GOP chairman's office. When he returned home, True posted the vote totals he had recorded to two different Facebook pages.

According to the results posted on the Iowa Republican Party's website, Romney received 22 of Moulton's 53 votes.

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Two days after the caucus, Mr. True signed an affidavit explaining his experience at the caucus and arguing that Romney's total was actually 2 votes. His account of the night seems to make sense given the results in surrounding precincts. Romney received low single-digit votes in all but two of the 13 precincts in Appanoose County. The closest county that went to Romney is 90 miles from Appanoose.

"When Mitt Romney won Iowa by eight votes and I've got a 20-vote discrepancy here, that right there says Rick Santorum won Iowa. Not Mitt Romney," True told KCCI. He was told that the mistake was a case of human error and that the totals would be corrected when the state certifies the caucus results this week.

Romney acknowledged that both he and Santorum won something in Iowa. "This has been a great victory for him and for his effort," Romney said of Santorum in his speech on caucus night. "He's worked very hard in Iowa. We also feel it's been a great victory for us here."

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After winning in a landslide in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary last week, Mitt Romney has looked like the inevitable Republican nominee more than ever. That inevitability argument is based partly on Romney being the first person to ever win the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary - a fact that voters in other states undoubtedly have taken to heart. If the Moulton results are changed and Santorum is declared as the official winner in Iowa, Romney's inevitability might be questioned.

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