it's the uniqueness of the iowa caucus. another example, in primaries, people vote to make their voices heard. in a caucus, people show up to make their presence felt. if you're going to be willing to sit in a room and listen to boring political speeches for two hours, you're probably not going to be somebody who's going to tamper with the system too much. >> doug, to be clear, since you have been in iowa, i know you've been there a long time handling communication now, trying to make sure everybody understands things from the perspective of the party, has there been a fight within the party over gt fact you don't have to show a photo i. d. to vote? has there been consternation for that? they're trying to change the rules for the state's election. there has not been worry about that for the caucuses? >> not at all. i've been with the secretary of state before our debate in sioux city. the issue didn't come up. to be honest, the first time i heard about this issue being an issue is when i got the fine phone call to appear on

we'll examine the iowa economy and what the iowa voter is looking for when we come back. ♪ >> welcome back, folks, here at the state capital building in iowa. the economy has been the major focus of attention in the run-up to the iowa caucuses, not just the national economy, but the financial situation here in this state as well. senior national correspondent john roberts has that story. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: in 2008 they voted on values and mike huckabee won the caucuses. and while values are still important in this town, this year the focus is different says the pella mayor. >> everybody is happier when everybody is employed and working and it gets down to it, jobs is the king. >> reporter: the big mro i remember here, pella windows and doors is struggling. the housing crisis, led to shutdowns. and they worked at pella for 14 years. loretta one of nearly 200 employees shown the door in november. and tim has a job there, but with one child in college and another about to go. fiscal discipline has become issue number one. at home and caucus night. >> if we can find some

we'll examine the iowa economy and what the iowa voter is looking for when we come back. ♪ >> welcome back, folks, here at the state capital building in iowa. the economy has been the major focus of attention in the run-up to the iowa caucuses, not just the national economy, but the financial situation here in this state as well. senior national correspondent john roberts has that story. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: in 2008 they voted on values and mike huckabee won the caucuses. and while values are still important in this town, this year the focus is different says the pella mayor. >> everybody is happier when everybody is employed and working and it gets down to it, jobs is the king. >> reporter: the big mro i remember here, pella windows and doors is struggling. the housing crisis, led to shutdowns. and they worked at pella for 14 years. loretta one of nearly 200 employees shown the door in november. and tim has a job there, but with one child in college and another about to go. fiscal discipline has become issue number one. at home and caucus night. >> if we can find some

death nail for the iowa caucuses. tell us why that is not the case in your view. >> iowa is always whittle the fields. it's about beating expectations here. i think you have three contenders that are going to go out of iowa, if you're not in the top three in iowa, you're making a big mistake. jon huntsman made a big mistake by not coming here and co campaigning here. ron paul, i think, deserves credit for putting a strong effort in here. lot of resources and lot of time in. people like the fact that he's been consistently against this deficit spending and manipulation of the monetary system in this country. i think people have some misgivings about his positions on foreign policy and i think that's something that people are starting to focus on here. >> all right, governor branstad, thank you so much for joining us and happy new year. >> thank you, same to you. >>> let's bring in two reporters in the hawkeye state. abc's political correspondent jonathan karl and o. kay henderson. >> jon, what strikes you as different

so within two weeks, the republican party of iowa will have the final certified results of the iowa caucuses. but i can report with 1770 presincts reporting, governor mitt romney received 30,015 votes. and senator rick santorum received 30,007 votes. congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 caucuses. congratulations to senator rick santorum for a very close second-place finish and an excellent scprais congratulations to congressman paul and the other candidate who is competed in the 2012 iowa caucuses. thank you very much. have a good night. >> matt stran. >> 122,255. >> had to get that final turnout number back in. but mitt romney wins the iowa caucuses by 8 votes. mitt romney wins the iowa caucuses by 8 votes over former senator rick santorum. took until 2:34 eastern time for that to happen. the interesting thing was that it's going to take 2 weeks for all of these precincts to officially certify this result. but 8 votes separates 1 and 2. >> and the interesting thing at the end was the turnout, 122 thousand. someone suggested that they may suggest an enthusiasm gap on t

or tied for the lead in iowa. every single one currently in this race has been on top with the exception of one and that's rick santorum and he's the guy coming up now. this thing is wide open. that makes it a lot of fun to cover. >> kay, you covered every iowa caucus since 1997, you see mitt romney for the second time, he campaigned last time and he won the straw poll, came in second in the iowa caucus. now he's trying again for a win, is he any different now as he was a candidate four years ago? >> he is, indeed. he's much more confident candidate on the stump. there have been several incidents where he's shown that confidence. he also stuck to a campaign strategy that i don't think many people would have stuck to if they didn't run before. the other thing about this campaign, is that it reminds me a bit about 1996, irony for me, the people who are running romney campaign on the ground here were running lamar alexander's operation in iowa in 1996. so, they know what it's like to be facing surging candidates at t

so within two weeks, the republican party of iowa will have the final certified results of the iowa caucuses. but i can report with 1770 presincts reporting, governor mitt romney received 30,015 votes. and senator rick santorum received 30,007 votes. congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 caucuses. congratulations to senator rick santorum for a very close second-place finish and an excellent scprais congratulations to congressman paul and the other candidate who is competed in the 2012 iowa caucuses. thank you very much. have a good night. >> matt stran. >> 122,255. >> had to get that final turnout number back in. but mitt romney wins the iowa caucuses by 8 votes. mitt romney wins the iowa caucuses by 8 votes over former senator rick santorum. took until 2:34 eastern time for that to happen. the interesting thing was that it's going to take 2 weeks for all of these precincts to officially certify this result. but 8 votes separates 1 and 2. >> and the interesting thing at the end was the turnout, 122 thousand. someone suggested that they may suggest an enthusiasm gap on t

the iowa republican caucuses, as we've discussed on this show before are not run by the state of iowa. they are run by the iowa republican party, and so this year, here's what happened late on caucus night. the guy you're about to see is the chair of the republican party in iowa. >> congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 iowa caucuses. congratulations to senator santorum for a very close second place finish in an excellent race here. >> mitt romney declared the winner of the iowa caucuses by the iowa republican party chairman on caucus night, only those were not the certified results they were using to declare a winner that night. according to the rules we had to wait for the certified results for a couple of weeks, but in the mean time -- >> congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 iowa caucuses. >> so the iowa republican party declares mitt romney the winner, even while they set out to certify the results. now, we were expecting, as the party had announced, we would get certified results two weeks later, see, it says right there, within 14 day

one of the closest in the history of the iowa caucuses. let's go right to the results as of this hour. and you can see just how close this race is. at this hour, rick santorum and mitt romney, locked in virtually a dead heat. look at that. almost 60,000 votes, ca s cast. ron paul coming up a strong third. and the rest of the field, the ones who will have an argument to make to voters that they can go on from here, newt gingrich hammered by negative ads falls to fourth place. rick perry there in fifth. michele bachmann, way down in sixth and jon huntsman didn't even campaign here. so, it is a nail-biter. we want to two right to abc news election headquarters in new york where diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos are standing by. and diane and george, what do you make of what the iowans have done here tonight? >> well, this is a season of phenomenal results. this is another one that confounds a lot of people in one sense. you have, yet again, a new front-runner, a tie at the top, with rick santorum pulling it off at the last minute. we've

, the results of the iowa caucuses. yes, there is a winner in the closest caucuses in history. and here it is. mitt romney has just been declared by the iowa republican party the winner. but look at this vote total. he defeats senator rick santorum by 8 votes out of 60,000. 60,000 between them, 120,000 all told. and coming up in third place, just behind him, ron paul in a strong showing here with a fervent, passionate support. he goes on. newt gingrich coming in fourth. texas governor rick perry, michele bachmann, and jon huntsman bringing up the rear there. but what an extraordinarily close race, just minutes ago here in des moines. the chairman of the republican party made the announcement. >> but i can report with 1770 precincts reporting, governor mitt romney received 30,015 votes. senator rick santorum received 30,007 votes. congratulations to governor mitt romney, winner of the 2012 iowa caucuses. congratulations to senator santorum for a very close second place finish and an excellent race here. and congratulatio

the iowa results. our john king is over at the magic wall. he's watching the ground game. and where the candidates need to make inroads. erin burnett is over at the polling station with the final numbers from iowa to show us who's on top right now and why everything could change on tuesday. and our ali velshi is over at the social media screen keeping tabs on what americans are saying online about the candidates. it's been a very busy new year's day out on the campaign trail in iowa. cnn's jim acosta is covering the last big push for votes. jim, set the scene for us. a very important day today. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. and newt gingrich is not crying anymore after weeks of taking abuse from mitt romney. the former speaker sent a clear message he is ready to return the favor. making his way through an iowa sports bar, newt gingrich signaled it's getting close to last call before the caucuses. what better time and place to start a brawl with his nemesis, mitt romney. >> frankly, if you're willing

vote in the iowa caucuses. in the latest des moines register poll you are at 22%. why do you think you are getting so much more traction here in iowa? >> it wasn't because i have changed my message. the world has changed. the economy has changed. i have talked about financial bubbles and the connection that was coming and that arrived and people are saying the economy is a big deal. spending is a big deal. the debt is a big deal. this is what i worked my whole career on trying to warn people about. also in foreign policy i get tremendous support on my position which the other candidates say it is dangerous believing in the constitution war you shouldn't go to unless unless you declare the war. 70% of the american people want us out of afghanistan. it is bankrupting us. we spent $4 trillion and went into debt in the last ten years. i'm deeply concerned about civil liberties injuries issues strike a chord with the people and that is the reason. more so now than even 20 years ago, because right now the evidence is

are the iowa republicans really being energized in the process the way the iowa democrats right now aren't? >> i think the republicans are certainly energized. i was talking to a campaign operative today who had a rally for his candidate and he said, look, my relatives were there. my parents were there. they are undecided but they are still going to all these rallies. trying to get him to vote for his candidate. the point is, wolf, sometimes you look at surveys and say an undecided 49%. still making up their minds. sometimes it means uninterested. i'm being told, no, they are energized. they are waiting to see the movie end before they see how to vote. >> realistically, in iowa, which the president carried four years ago, is it doable this time around? absolutely. a classic toss-up state. i think yellin's report is accurate. if there are six swing states, iowa is one of them. if there is 12, iowa is one of them. i checked with democrats here. they pointed out the largest is barack obama's. they held over 1200 volunteer training sessions all across the state. they made 300,000 calls in to v

vote in the iowa caucaus. you are at 22 percent. why do you think you are getting more traction here in iowa this time? >> guest: well, it is not because i changed my message. my message has been the same for 30 years. but the world has changed and the country has changed. i warned about financial bubbles and the correction that was coming. that has arrive people are saying the economy is a big deal. the spending is a big deal and the debt is a big deal. this is what i worked for my career. in foreign policy i get tremendous support on my position, other candidates say it is dangerousbelieving in the constitution that you shouldn't go to war. people are tired of the wars. 70 percent of the american people want us out of afghanistan. it is bankrupting us and we spent four trillion in that war. these issues strike a cord with the people and more than four years ago . a lot more than 20 or 30 years ago, the evidence is loud and clearr that government is failing in what they are doing for us. and that's why people

vote in the iowa caucuses. in the latest des moines register poll you are at 22%. why do you think you are getting so much more traction here in iowa? >> it wasn't because i have changed my message. the world has changed. the economy has changed. i have talked about financial bubbles and the connection that was coming and that arrived and people are saying the economy is a big deal. spending is a big deal. the debt is a big deal. this is what i worked my whole career on trying to warn people about. also in foreign policy i get tremendous support on my position which the other candidates say it is dangerous believing in the constitution war you shouldn't go to unless unless you declare the war. 70% of the american people want us out of afghanistan. it is bankrupting us. we spent $4 trillion and went into debt in the last ten years. i'm deeply concerned about civil liberties injuries issues strike a chord with the people and that is the reason. more so now than even 20 years ago, because right now the evidence is

the closest finish in the history of iowa caucuses. santorum was barely a blip on the political radar just a couple weeks ago and today he's the latest contender to challenge romney. >> game on. >> and we're covering all the angles of the game. john king has the big picture and dana bash and joe johns look at the winners and losers and dan lothian and david mattingly looking ahead to the battlegrounds that are now more important than ever. all right, let's start with dana bash. dana? >> well, we have some potential news this morning about what this caucus has did to the field on the republican side. michele bachmann who, of course, came in a disappointing sixth, effectively dead last here in iowa is going to hold a news conference in a few hours. her campaign is not saying what it is about, but it is hastily arranged news conference. it is hard to imagine that she's going to have something and not give us news about the future or maybe lack there of of her campaign. so, kyra, we're waiting to see exactly what she says. obviously, she i

but first, the view from the top here in iowa. we talk with this state's governor, terry branson next. since i've lost weight i have so much more energy than i used to, when i'm out with my kids, my daughter's like, "mom, wait up!" and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪ where they grow america's favorite wpotoes. idaho, everyone knows idaho potatoes taste great. but did you know they'reood for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart assoction for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. >> welcome back to the iowa state capitol here in des moines. less than two hours from t

the iowa results. our john king is over at the magic wall. he's watching the ground game. and where the candidates need to make inroads. erin burnett is over at the polling station with the final numbers from iowa to show us who's on top right now and why everything could change on tuesday. and our ali velshi is over at the social media screen keeping tabs on what americans are saying online about the candidates. it's been a very busy new year's day out on the campaign trail in iowa. cnn's jim acosta is covering the last big push for votes. jim, set the scene for us. a very important day today. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. and newt gingrich is not crying anymore after weeks of taking abuse from mitt romney. the former speaker sent a clear message he is ready to return the favor. making his way through an iowa sports bar, newt gingrich signaled it's getting close to last call before the caucuses. what better time and place to start a brawl with his nemesis, mitt romney. >> frankly, if you're willing

we will be the iowa caucuses talking iowa as we continue -- we will the iowa caucuses be iowa. we will be talking with michele bachmann. we will also talk to jesse benton. you can find all the coverage on c-span.org. next, we will look at the caucuses with craig robinson. we will be right back. ♪ >> that side has already made up his mind. this side has already made up its mind. >> rice is a university. >> you just be quiet. you be quiet. >> you did not know me. >> i pay your salary. >> i will remain -- >> the confrontation at a congressional hearing between representative young of alaska and historian douglas brinkley rank does the fourth most watched video in the c-span video library. watch it former self at c- span.org/videolibrary. it is what you want, when you want. >> "washington journal" continues. host: craig robinson is th"the iowa republican" a different shape. thank you for being with us. what are you thinking and making of the latest polls showing mitt romney and ron paul fearing well right now? guest: when i looked at the polls, i see there are three candidates th

the iowa results. our john king is over at the magic wall watching the ground game and where the candidates need to make in-roads. >> erin brunette is at the polling station with the final numbers to show us who is on top right now and why everything could change on tuesday. our ali velshi is over at the social media screen keeping tabs on what americans are saying online about the candidates. it has been a very busy new year's day on the campaign trail in iowa. jim acosta is covering the last big push for votes. set the scene for us, a very important day today. >>> that's right, wolf. newt gingrich is not crying anymore after weeks of taking abuse from mitt romney, the former speaker sent a clear message, he is ready to return the favor. newt gingrich signaled, it is getting close to last call. >> frankly, if you are willing to be dishonest to try to get to be president, why would we think you would be honest once you were president? >> reporter: abandoning his pledge to stay positive, he went on at a

here's the question. what do the iowa caucuses really mean? post a comment on my blog or go to our post on "the situation room's" factbook page. >> new hampshire isn't exactly reflective of the country as a whole either. >> no, it's not. somebody suggested we should do a series of four or five national primaries and the top five candidates in the first would go through to the next round. and finally have a defining one between the top two candidates, maybe six weeks before the election in november. >> i've been hearing that for a long, long time and hasn't happened yet, but you never know. think some day might change. thank you. >>> not that long ago, he looked to be a contender in iowa, but herman cain never made it. his campaign imploded amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment, but he say he still sees a role for himself in the republican race. he spoke with john king. how did that go? >> interesting conversation. very difficult. we'll watch this in the weeks and months ahead, but one month ago today, he suspended his ferm. today, he

the ohio... no, i'm sorry, that is the iowa... (laughter). the iowa caucuses. the caucusi? let's check on that. either way, it's the superbowl of old midwestern people in a high school gym sitting in folding chairs. (laughter) and, folks, no one is on this story like i am tonight! i am bringing you every corner of the state, the most complete coverage i could get from free web cams. (laughter) we're talking the county courthouse live parking lot web cam. a highway cam on i think that is the iowa avenue bridge over the iowa river. they're a creative people. and the iowa corn cam catching up on all the up-to-the-minute developments with an ear of iowa corn. and, of course, the report report cam cam that film it is camera that is filming the web site. now, normally we broadcast live at 11:30 every night. but tonight i am pretaping my show at 7:00 so i could get home in time to catch the start of the hyping of new hampshire. but just because it is impossible for me to know the winner of iowa yet, that will not keep me from being the first to call this race. i can already say wh

the numbers, the numbers. >> all this talk about iowa. all of this media attention, 25 delegates are up for tonight. what do you need to win the nomination? 2,286. that's why i believe no candidate should drop out. i'm tired of all this attention put on iowa. joan that gold buberg with "the national review," he's right in the newspaper today, and look you shouldn't put this much attention on iowa. 25 delegates out of 2,286. jon huntsman is right, skip iowa and still win the nomination. >> look at this, we made it with 20 seconds to spare. >> of course. >> it's pretty good. >> the brother know how to work it now. >>> the "cnn newsroom" continues with suzanne malveaux right after a quick break. the health n with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm

the doorps at caucus sites across the straight state of iowa have opened at this hour, and the voting, the actual voting is finally about to get under way in the first contest of the 2012 republican presidential race. the last time iowa owned the national spotlight it was this underdog senator from the great state of illinois who made history on the democratic side. that same night four years ago the republican party's eventual nominee came in fourth place in iowa. republican four years ago who outspent all other republican candidates in iowa combined that year, he also ended up lose that night. he lost to a former arkansas governor who cap toured the hearts of iowa evangelicals and took iowa by storm. mike huckabee won the iowa republican caucusesy in 2008 with a ten-point victory over the second place finisher, mitt romney. tonight mitt romney is back. sherunning at or near the top of the polls. his campaign had initially steered clear of iowa this year, but now they are all in. the latest challenger to romney's front-runner status is former pennsylvania senator, rick santorum, a ca

the iowa results. our john king is over at the magic wall watching the ground game and where the candidates need to make in-roads. >> erin brunette is at the polling station with the final numbers to show us who is on top right now and why everything could change on tuesday. our ali velshi is over at the social media screen keeping tabs on what americans are saying online about the candidates. it has been a very busy new year's day on the campaign trail in iowa. jim acosta is covering the last big push for votes. set the scene for us, a very important day today. >>> that's right, wolf. newt gingrich is not crying anymore after weeks of taking abuse from mitt romney, the former speaker sent a clear message, he is ready to return the favor. newt gingrich signaled, it is getting close to last call. >> frankly, if you are willing to be dishonest to try to get to be president, why would we think you would be honest once you were president? >> reporter: abandoning his pledge to stay positive, he went on at a

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the iowa town -- closing in the iowa town on perry. we will end the campaign with a flourish this evening. host: don in blue springs, missouri. caller: happy new year. i have a question on the electability issues everybody is talking. i have heard that romney is the number-one elected a candidate. but when i see romneycare and that he's only been elected to one elections. daniel everett santorum, who -- and then you have rick santorum, who has a spending problem and lost in his own state. i don't see how people get the message that rick perry is more electable -- is not more electable? he hasnever appea -- never lost an election and has balanced several budgets. why is that message is not getting out? guest: thank you. the message has clearly gotten out to you. i appreciate the call and the comment. that is what this campaign has really been about. governor perry is the candidate, in our opinion, that can really bridge a lot of fish gaps -- issue gaps. he talked to both sides of the aisle. he has a great record of success. going forwar