Iowa Preps For A Photo Finish

The Repubilcan caucus in Iowa is headed for a photo finish with three of the candidates being separated by just two percentage points. 

According to the latest poll by Public Policy Polling, the Iowa caucus will go down to the wire as Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are raking in 20, 19 and 18 percent of the vote, respectively. 

Romney and Paul have seen similar figures in Iowa in recent weeks, but the momentum is being controlled by Rick Santorum who has clawed his way back to relevancy in the last few days. 

In addition to Santorum’s surge is Paul’s fall. Paul was previously seeing numbers in the mid-twenties but that has fallen below 20 percent and below Romney. 

“It’s impossible to say who’s going to win Tuesday night,” said Dean Debman, President of Public Poling Policy. “If you think momentum will be the most important factor that’s an argument for Santorum. If you think having the most passionate supporters will be the most important factor that’s an argument for Paul. And if you think the ability to beat Barack Obama will be the most important factor that’s an argument for Romney.”

The remainder of the field has been quietly dwindling. After seeing strong national support, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is lagging behind with 14 percent support. Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman round up the field with just 10, 8 and 4 percent, respectively.  

The results of PPP’s survey were based on the surveys of 1,340 likely Republican caucus voters on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.