The
Iowa Republican Caucus - January 3 was an event of great significance, being the first in the line of the party's caucuses and primaries that are slated to be held all across the country over a period of three months. Iowa has a total of 7 electoral votes, and Republicans enjoy a 30% following in the state. The total number of voters from Florida is well in excess of 2, 00,000.
There was high attendance at the Iowa Primary with 98% of the precincts reporting. Iowa has an estimated total strength of 40 delegates for the Republicans. 56% of the total voters were men, while women accounted for the remaining 44%. A majority of the voters, about 46%, belonged to the age group between 45 and 64 according to the Republican exit poll reports.
Mike Huckabee was declared as the projected winner at the Iowa Caucus, with 40,841 popular votes (34%) and 30 delegate votes. He defeated his nearest contender Matt Romney with a margin of nine percent. Romney secured 25% popular votes and seven delegate votes. Fred Thompson and John McCain tied with 13% each. The results were initiala setbacks to the campaigns of both John McCain and Matt Romney. Mike Huckabee was something of a surprise winner, because he did not campaign that zealously till the last six weeks before the Primary. However, what remains to be seen how successfully he can carry forward his success in the forthcoming primaries, where he will face steep competition from other competitors.
In a Public speech after the declaration of the results, Huckabee stated that the Iowa result was a lesson to everyone who thought that people and delegates can be won over by money alone. His success has been largely attributed to the evangelical Christians of the state, as well as his appeal among the middle class Republicans.
