Romney declared winner of Iowa Caucuses

Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses by eight – that’s eight votes, not percentage points.

The Jan. 3 contest was the first in the balloting for the Republican presidential nomination process leading up to the national convention in Tampa this summer.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Romney placed first in the tight race, followed by former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and then Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ran a distant fourth, followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who had skipped the caucuses to focus on next week’s primary in New Hampshire.

With the exception of marginal candidate Fred Karger, who is gay, none of the Republican candidates have good records on LGBT issues.

But Santorum heads to New Hampshire and then South Carolina with the worst record on LGBT issues and a strong, surprise, second-place showing in Iowa.

Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBT GOP group, responded to the Iowa results early Jan. 4.

“Of the candidates who participated in the Iowa caucuses, Gov. Mitt Romney was one of the best on issues affecting LGBT Americans. By contrast, Sen. Santorum rose by appealing to a uniquely socially conservative electorate,” said LCR executive director R. Clarke Cooper.

But Santorum’s appeal in Iowa probably won’t play well in New Hampshire and other states, according to Cooper.

“It is very early in what promises to be a long and drawn-out nomination process, and Log Cabin Republicans are confident that ultimately our party will select the candidate with the best chance to win the White House,” Cooper said. “Rick Santorum is not that candidate. As the nomination process moves forward, Log Cabin Republicans suggest all of the candidates reject Santorum’s politics of division and win by focusing on the issues that matter most to Americans – jobs and the economy. If using gay and lesbian Americans as a wedge can’t score enough political points to win more than 25 percent in Iowa, it certainly won’t help the Republican nominee in November.”