US News

After Iowa dead heat, US Republican candidates look to next contest

Jan 4, 2012, 15:23 GMT

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gets a hug from his wife Ann at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines, Iowa, USA as final results of the Iowa Caucus are tallied 03 January 2012. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Washington - The morning after Republican US presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum emerged neck and neck in the party's first nominating contest of the 2012 season, the candidates were already turning to the next contest.

There was little time to rest following the Iowa caucuses - which ended with the closest race in the history of the contest. The caucuses have kicked off the nominating process for US presidential elections since the 1970s.

Former Massachusetts governor Romney pulled ahead in the early hours of Wednesday, ending with 30,015 votes, just eight ahead of former Pennsylvania senator Santorum, out of 122,255 cast, state Republican officials said. The result was a dead heat at 25 per cent each.

In third place was Texas Congressman Ron Paul, at 21.5 per cent.

The caucuses in the small, central US state launched the opposition Republican Party's process to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama. The Iowa contest is known for winnowing the presidential field while giving momentum to top finishers.

With less than a week until the primary in the north-eastern state of New Hampshire, on Tuesday, Santorum was to hold a townhall meeting there, even as Romney was expected to snag a key endorsement from Arizona Senator John McCain, who represented the party in 2008 elections, but lost to Obama.