Alleged faulty vote count means Santorum may really have won Iowa

By Karoun Demirjian

Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012 | 9:46 p.m.

According to a report from an Iowa television station, Mitt Romney may not have won the Iowa caucuses after all.

Iowa CBS affiliate KCCI says a volunteer vote counter from Moulton, Iowa — where only 53 people caucused — noticed a 20-vote discrepancy between what he had counted and what had been recorded by the Iowa Republican Party.

In a normal election, a typographical error that skews results by 20 votes is no big deal. But in Tuesday's election, Romney had only an 8-vote margin of victory over Rick Santorum, who went from almost last place to almost — or perhaps actually — first place in the final week of campaigning.

Romney has been referring to his slim victory as part of his opener in several town halls in New Hampshire.

"What a squeaker, but it sure is nice to have a win," he told a gathering at Central High School in Manchester, N.H., on Wednesday.

Being able to declare a win in Iowa may have given Santorum a little bit of momentum heading into New Hampshire, but he's still an underdog in that fight, as he is in Nevada. The last New Hampshire poll put Romney on top with 41 percent of the vote, followed by Ron Paul with 18 percent. Santorum is coming in third with 8 percent.