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Romney Beats Santorum by Eight Votes; Perry, Bachmann, Huntsman Slide; Santorum Wins Evangelical Vote; Candidates' Fashion Choices; Battleground Shifts to New Hampshire
Aired January 04, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. I wish I had some hash browns. Soledad, thank you so much. Maybe we can get her to bring some back there.
We begin this hour, of course, with the presidential race and a photo finish. Mitt Romney, the longtime frontrunner, squeaks past Rick Santorum with a mere eight votes. It's the closest finish in the history of Iowa caucuses. Santorum was barely a blip on the political radar just a couple of weeks ago and today he's the latest contender to challenge Romney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Game on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And we're covering all the angles of the game. John King has the big picture, 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.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have some potential news this morning about what this -- what this caucus 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.
So it is hard to imagine that she is going to have something and not give us news about the future or maybe lack thereof of her campaign.
So, Kyra, we are waiting to see exactly what she says. Obviously, she is somebody who was one of those who is riding very, very high here in Iowa. Not that long ago. She actually won the first contest here, the Ames straw poll, and -- only to see her popularity absolutely plummet in the last few weeks.
So that will be probably, potentially, some kind of result from the Iowa caucuses last night. PHILLIPS: All right, Dana.
BASH: Excuse me, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Hey, it's been a long night, you're tired, I understand. And it's cold out there.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: No problem. All right, so, Dana, we're going to stand by, obviously, and wait for that. We will take that live when it's going to happen at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time as you mentioned.
Let's go ahead and talk about Rick Santorum, shall we, and that surprise finish last night. What's your take?
BASH: Wow. I mean, look, I mean this is an example of a few things. Number one is that the idea of retail politics still lives here in Iowa. This is the way Jimmy Carter, years and years ago first put Iowa on the map as a place that really does matter in terms of the primaries in both parties, obviously.
And Rick Santorum, at the very end, came from behind doing it the old-fashioned way. He did it also by capturing and galvanizing the very important conservative, evangelical vote here. And he, no surprise, was incredibly happy at his victory party last night. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: You, you, by standing up and not compromising, by standing up and being bold and leading. Leading with that burden and responsibility you have to be first. You have taken the first step of taking back this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So, Dana, what about Mitt Romney and how is he reacting to this pretty narrow win?
BASH: He's also elated. I mean, look, let's be honest. It was effectively a tie, right? But from someone like Mitt Romney, who I can tell you I was here covering him extensively four years ago. The fact that he did as well as he did here after really getting trounced, they're absolutely thrilled.
Not only with the fact that he had an effective tie, but the fact that the people who came in next to him, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, they honestly don't see as major threats down the road. Listen to the way Mitt Romney described his victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm actually feeling terrific because, as you know, we were well behind several weeks ago. I don't think many people gave us a shot of beating Speaker Gingrich. We, obviously, won last night. Although it's very, very close. Obviously Rick Santorum and Ron Paul also had big nights. We all come out of Iowa a lot stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: So that is going to be one of the main questions, Kyra. Obviously, New Hampshire is a place that Mitt Romney has historically been doing very, very well. He continues to do well there in the polls. He is from the neighboring state of Massachusetts. He has a house in New Hampshire.
It is unheard of, really, historically, for a Republican candidate, definitely not a Republican nominee, to actually win both Iowa and New Hampshire. So he would be in very, very good standing and in good shape going on to get the nomination, but this is a year like we have never seen before.
They are very happy inside the Romney campaign that Santorum certainly did well here, but they don't think that he has the kind of organization to give him longevity in this race, and Ron Paul is the one that they're a little bit worried about, mostly him being a potential spoiler as he continues to go down the road and they hope inside the Romney campaign, eventually, clinch the nomination -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Dana, thanks so much.
You know the Iowa caucuses and all the early races in this primary season are not just about who wins. You know that. It's also about where other candidates finish. And with Romney and Santorum at the top, Ron Paul came in third. That's just what recent polls predicted. Newt Gingrich who was once leading the pack finished a distance fourth.
Now last hour on CNN, Ron Paul says that he is where he needs to be heading to New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we're in second place and that's a good way -- a good place to start. So I think we're going to have some momentum and we're going to continue to do what we're doing. It's a -- it's live free or die state. They're very freedom oriented so that message will spread there and I'm confident we're going to do quite well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And then as for Gingrich, he said that earlier this week that his campaign would be fine with a finish in the top four. He managed that. Now he's already looking ahead to rally conservatives in South Carolina later this month.
All right, let's go ahead and talk about more about how Iowans voted and why. Our resident Iowan, of course, Christine Romans here to break it all down for us.
Christine, why don't we go ahead and start with the issues that mattered most and we had some pretty interesting results?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it shows you, I think, Kyra, that things are so different from 2008. In 2008 Iowa voters were asked in the caucuses, you know, what was the most important issues, it was things like terrorism, it was things like illegal immigration.
You take a look at it this time. It's health care. Four percent said this is the most important issue. The economy, 42 percent, budget deficit, 34 percent. And here you can see abortion. Now this was a strong suit for Santorum. He won this category handily. The budget deficit, voters in Iowa thought -- Republican voters in Iowa thought that Ron Paul wins the best there. Now on the economy it was Mitt Romney.
Now another thing that's interesting about these entrance polls. We asked some 20, 21 questions to people as they were coming in to their caucus sites, and this is what we found out what they were thinking on the way in. We also asked them about when they decided who they were going to support.
You and I have been talking an awful lot about how Iowans were searching. Well, you can see in their candidates how they were doing. I mean take a look at this, Ron Paul did very well here among the people who thought that he was -- so you can see. Look at this. Before December is when people who were Ron Paul supporters decided they were going to support him. They are diehards, Kyra. They are young, they are diehards and they've been around a long time. They have made up their minds.
But what about people in December? Who did they decide to support? Let me get rid of this. And there you can see Santorum. This is the surge we're talking about here. What about in the last few days. Santorum and Romney. What about just on the actual day of the caucus. Santorum and Romney.
So you can see that Santorum surge over the past month, say, and that even at the last minute, Romney supporters were deciding whether they were going to come out for him. So it really kind of bears out what we've been saying about how at least for that top spot, people were still making up their minds at the last minute. Except for Ron Paul. Those folks have made up their minds a long time ago.
PHILLIPS: You talked about all those signs in everybody's front yard throughout your neighborhood.
ROMANS: Yes. Yes.
PHILLIPS: And your whole community. I know your family --
ROMANS: My anecdotal -- my anecdotal evidence is now born out by the entrance polls.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Christine, thanks so much. ROMANS: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: We'll be talking more at the bottom of the hour.
All right. Here's a look at how the bottom of the pack finished. Rick Perry, who once sat atop the polls actually continues his slide. He finished in Iowa with 10 percent of the vote. Michele Bachmann who had earlier won the Iowa straw poll received 5 percent of the vote, and as Dana Bash just reported, she's going to hold a news conference at 11:00 a.m. this morning. You wanted to stay tuned for that. We will take it live.
And then Jon Huntsman, who ignored the state, ended up with less than 1 percent. Well, Joe Johns is in Des Moines for us this morning.
So, Joe, we're actually hearing rumbles that this might be the end of Rick Perry's bid. What do you know and is he heading back to Texas?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, he hasn't said that. The thing about him was -- it is pretty remarkable what happened with Rick Perry. He went from flying so high to flying so low. Actually just a fall from grace in the polls that was almost epic for the Texas governor now that 10 percent, fifth place finish, is just not good news for him.
But, still, he is not saying he's dropping out of the race, at least not yet. Let's listen to a little bit of Rick Perry here and talk about in a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With the voters' decision tonight in Iowa, I decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Rick Perry was supposed to be in South Carolina today and so far we don't think he's going. So it doesn't sound like good news for Rick Perry, but he hasn't said anything other than he's reassessing at least right now -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Joe, you let us know as you hear things. Appreciate it. Because you're there on the ground. You're connected.
All right, Mitt Romney is the only Republican who has sat at or near the top of the Iowa polls in recent months. So in many ways he went into last night's caucuses with a simple goal, don't lose. But did he really accomplish that?
John Avlon is laughing. He's also a CNN contributor. He's a senior columnist for the "Newsweek" and the "Daily Beast." You know, you and I were talking about this. All this enthusiasm, everybody looking at the video from last night and talking about the results, but you're saying, actually, if you look at it, Romney flatlined when it came to the numbers.
JOHN AVLON, SR. COLUMNIST, NEWSWEEK & DAILY BEAST: That's exactly right. First of all, turnout was not up, not significantly up from where it was four years ago when the . Democrats had all the enthusiasm on their side with that Hillary/Obama campaign. It was pretty steady at 120,000. So that shows a certain enthusiasm deficit after all that attention on Iowa, after the wake of the Tea Party surge that drove the 2010 election.
There was not increased turnout. And second of all, Mitt Romney didn't won Iowa by eight votes. So it's really -- I think you know in some cases a moral victory for Rick Santorum in that David versus Goliath situation? But he actually lost votes. Compared to four years ago. He got six votes less. So essentially flatlined, but he's not been able to build his base despite campaigning for president for the past four years.
Not a huge investment he's made in Iowa. Certainly over the last time -- last cycle in the last two months, as well. So not only an enthusiasm deficit that Republicans are going to have to confront, but Mitt Romney realizing he will remains the only man in politics with a glass ceiling of 25 percent.
PHILLIPS: OK. And you and I were talking about endorsements and it's interesting. There are a number of people out there. The analysts who say, who cares about these endorsements. However, you say, no, we need to listen. We're going to hear from John McCain, probably Mike Huckabee. Right? Well, what do you think? You're looking at those two, right?
AVLON: John McCain is scheduled to endorse Mitt Romney today in New Hampshire. That will be big news today because --
PHILLIPS: How much will that really matter?
AVLON: Well, John McCain is a hero in New Hampshire. He beat George W. Bush by 19 points there in 2000. It where he resuscitated his campaign last time around. Defeating Mitt Romney, actually the only statewide elected official from Massachusetts to not win the New Hampshire primary. So it's a significant healing of a 2008 rift. It sort of signifies that the center right is -- and the establishment is rallying around Mitt Romney. But there does raise that question. I mean Rick Santorum is playing the Mike Huckabee role.
PHILLIPS: You're being called the 2012 Mike Huckabee.
AVLON: He is, and there are a lot of similarities. You got that social conservative surge, looking for a social conservative to mitt. And one of the open questions is, would Mike Huckabee, who sat out so far, you know, actually endorse the person who's filling in for him so to speak.
His protege in this race. Rick Santorum. One of the interesting open questions. Not just looking at New Hampshire. We're independent voters, we'll be the (INAUDIBLE). But then the gauntlet for the rest of the month. South Carolina and then Florida. PHILLIPS: And I know you're writing about that in "The Beast." You can check that out online. All right. You're going to be with us at the top of the hour, 10:00 hour. Who knows what can happen in 60 minutes.
AVLON: The world could change.
PHILLIPS: There you go. John, thanks.
All right. Let's go on to New Hampshire, continue talking about that. Will voters there actually take a second look at Rick Santorum? We're live in the nation's first primary state with new poll results and we're live from South Carolina, which is also holding another early contest.
And then later, one of the most interesting moments last night in Iowa. Delayed results finally reported after a GOP wake-up call. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROLYN TALETT, PRESIDENT, CLINTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN WOMEN: I came to Edith's home and pounded on the door and woke her up and got her up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: CNN's exclusive interview with two GOP officials who solved the mystery of the missing votes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: As you know the political battleground now shifts from Iowa to New Hampshire, for the nation's first primary on Tuesday.
Our Dan Lothian is already in Manchester.
Dan, you've been there a few days now. What's the buzz?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the buzz really is that Mitt Romney has really had a lock on this campaign season here with a large double-digit lead overall his Republican competitors. But, you know, the reason for that is because he's a well-known commodity here. He's the governor, former governor of a neighboring state and he has a vacation home here. You also recall he was placed second here in 2008. So, he spent a lot of time campaigning here.
But the question is, how will that dynamic change now given what has happened in Iowa?
And take a look at a little window into perhaps what could be happening based on a CNN/ORC poll conducted last night with those who were actually watching the caucuses.
Mitt Romney, the polling numbers from early December was he was up 47 percent. As of yesterday, last night, he continues to be at 47 percent. Paul is at 17 percent. The same that he was at in December. Jon Huntsman at 13 percent -- again, he has not changed at all.
But the important number to focus on is Rick Santorum. His number back in December was at 5 percent. And, now, based on those who are watching the caucuses, it has jumped to 10 percent. That's fairly significant, if his supporters are hoping that that momentum, that caused that last-minute surge in Iowa will translate right here in New Hampshire.
The big issue is, will he have the money to really seriously compete? And already he's asking his supporters to donate money, saying it's urgent and asking him to donate, $35, $50, $75. It's cash that he will need in this big battle, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Dan Lothian in New Hampshire for us -- Dan, thanks.
And all eyes will be on New Hampshire primary. And, of course, "The Best Political Team on Television" has it covered for you. Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King all joining us for live coverage, CNN, Tuesday night, 7:00 Eastern.
And then after New Hampshire, the Republican campaign moves south. First stop, the South Carolina primary on January 21st. Ten days later, it's Florida's turn.
David Mattingly is right there in Aiken, South Carolina, for us.
David, tell us what the candidates have planned for the Palmetto State?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, whatever they might have had planned is going out the window. The landscape seems here to be changing by the hour. I'm actually in Aiken, South Carolina, right now. We were anticipating a campaign event today by Governor Rick Perry. But he's now in Texas reassessing his campaign.
So, when the fallout of Iowa, the candidates themselves are going to be reassessing their strategies and what they need to do here.
But the chairman of the GOP here in South Carolina was quoted saying yesterday, this state is wide open. And nothing happened in Iowa last night that is probably going to change that.
You're going to see Mitt Romney coming here tomorrow. He's going to be positioning himself, driving the point home with voters here that he is the one candidate who can beat President Obama in November.
You're going to see Rick Santorum coming here, probably, focusing on his support among social conservatives and the large block of evangelical voters here in South Carolina.
So, candidates who are strong in Iowa are going to find strong pieces of support here in South Carolina, as well. But at this point, the people in South Carolina feel like they are the ones who are the winners. They went through a lot of trouble to move their primary up ahead of Florida after Florida moved theirs up this year, just so they could be the first voice in the South to make a decision in this primary contest.
So, they wake up this morning, maybe not seeing a frontrunner, but they are exactly where they want to be and making sure that their opinion is heard across the country during this primary season.
PHILLIPS: David Mattingly for us there in South Carolina, we're continuing to look forward. David, thanks so much.
You know, the conservative blowtorch of Iowa radio might need more butane gas? Why? Because the candidate Steve Deace supported kind of flamed out last night -- not exactly a repeat of the 2008 caucuses when Deace's huge influence helped Mike Huckabee wins. We're going to talk to Mr. Blowtorch in just a few minutes.
The Obama campaign launching a lightning attack against Republicans after the Iowa caucus. We'll have that reaction, also.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Iowa caucuses aren't exactly comedy gold, but Conan O'Brien gave it a shot on his show last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN: Of course, everyone is excited today the Republican Iowa caucuses, huh? Or as it is also known, old white guy Mardi Gras.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Steve, the so-called conservative blowtorch of Iowa radio, joining us again this morning.
So, Steve, if the caucuses were like Mardi Gras, you were in the Gingrich float. He didn't get the most speed. What happened to your guy?
STEVE DEACE, SYNDICATED RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: What happened is, and I know this is going to sound like spin and maybe it is, but his people actually think, I talked to one of his key people in Iowa who think I might have saved him from fifth place. So, I mean, folks got to keep in mind, I had one radio program between the time I endorsed him and between the time he went to the caucuses.
And my hope was that we could help him at least stay stabilized enough to go on to South Carolina and Florida where he's got far better organization and is far more competitive and where I think this nomination is going to ultimately be decided.
PHILLIPS: All right. Steve, well, here's what Newt had to say last night and then I'll get your reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to take just a minute and congratulate a good friend of ours, somebody who we admire and his family we admire, and that's Rick Santorum. He waged a great, positive campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
GINGRICH: I admire the courage, the discipline, the way he focused, and I also admire how positive it was. I wish I could say that for all the candidates.
There will be a great debate in the Republican Party before we are prepared to have a great debate with Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: What's your reaction and are you going to stick with Newt?
DEACE: I am going to stick with Newt. Until someone comes up with bigger and better solutions, I'm going to stick with Newt. I do think that what's interesting is some of the best days the Republican Party has had in the last 25 years, since Reagan left office, were in the mid-1990s. You had Rick Santorum in the Senate and you had Newt Gingrich in the Congress, working together to have really the last time we moved this country ideologically to the right.
So, I know this -- as long as Mitt Romney has a flooded field, he's likely to be the nominee. If Mitt Romney has to go one-on-one with either Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich, he is going to lose this nomination. Four years later, he got 66 more votes in Iowa than he got four years ago. I think that tells you, he is a static frontrunner. And now, it's about what the challenger would and should be.
PHILLIPS: Steve, final question, you know, what kind of feedback did you get from your listeners last night? You were live through the night and what are you expecting to hear from them today?
You know, they're very dedicated to you and they helped Huckabee win there in '08 when you endorsed him.
DEACE: You know, I didn't really get nearly as much blow back for this as I thought. I know a lot of my listeners, even if they didn't vote for Newt, love his voice, love his intellect, want to see his voice be prominent in the race, and I think even a lot of my listeners, if they were Rick Santorum supporters, I think the idea of a Santorum/Gingrich, or Gingrich/Santorum ticket is something that would appeal to a lot of them.
PHILLIPS: Steve Deace, thanks again for joining me. I appreciate it. We'll talk more.
DEACE: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: And next hour, we're actually going to talk to the British guy who replaced Steve at WHO Radio in Des Moines, Simon Conway. Simon's pick didn't do so well either last night. But h not giving up on Rick Perry just yet.
And Democrats in Iowa held their own caucuses last night, showing support for President Obama. The president addressed them actually in a video teleconference, making sure that they remember his achievements like ending the Iraq war and pushing health care reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm actually more optimistic now than I was when I first ran, because we've already seen change take place. What kind of country are we going to leave for our children and our grandchildren? There is no problem that we face that we cannot solve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Obama campaign also e-mailed a message to supporters right after the Iowa caucuses. Quote, "The extremist Tea Party agenda won a clear victory. No matter who the Republicans nominate, we'll be running against someone who has embraced that agenda in order to win -- vowing to let Wall Street write its own rules and Medicare, as we know it, roll back gay rights, leave the troops in Iraq indefinitely, restrict a woman's right to choose, and gut Social Security to pay more tax cuts for millionaires and corporations."
Well, up next, behind the scenes in perhaps the most thrilling Iowa caucus in history. Our Soledad O'Brien was there every step of the way. She joins me live about how it all unfolded.
And two breakout stars of the Iowa caucuses were not candidates, but two Republican women who recorded the final votes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They gave me a name and I tried calling because it's late here. They were in bed and the chair was also in bed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: But not for long. Hear what happened next, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
They call themselves the Free Syrian Army and they're promising to kick off huge operation this week against President al-Assad's regime. CNN can't independently confirm this video of Syrian troops in Hama. But an opposition group says five more protesters were killed by troops across Syria.
An accused arsonist will be in court this morning in connection with 52 fires set in the Los Angeles area over the holiday weekend. The fires caused $3 million in damages. Harry Burkhart is also under investigation in his home country of Germany for arson.
And President Obama travels to Cleveland today to push his plan to grow the economy and create jobs. Ohio is a battleground state that the president needs to win in November.
Well, as we've told you, it was the closest margin of victory in Iowa caucus history. Mitt Romney edges ahead of Rick Santorum by only eight votes.
Watching it all unfold in Iowa was our Soledad O'Brien. She's joining us now live from Des Moines.
Soledad, quite a night. What's your take on Rick Santorum?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quite a morning, actually. Technically.
You know, interesting. You know, I think a lot of people the days before the caucuses actually begin were telling me, watch Rick Santorum. That's going to be the headline, and to a large degree, it was. I mean, the headline was Romney wins, but it was that eight points and those eight votes were really the Rick Santorum difference.
And I think it's due to a couple of things. The first would be that he did the very traditional way -- people like to be campaigned to here in Iowa, which is go out and meet people. As you well know, he went to all 99 counties and did a lot of hand shaking and really met people.
Here in Iowa, people will tell you they really appreciate and value that. I think that was very important for him.
The second thing he did, while he really had the social conservatives behind him to a large degree, one thing he started doing in sort of the days after he got his bump was to start talking about blue collar job issues, start talking about the economy, moving out of those values issues and moving into the economy -- which, of course, as you well know, all the polls show was people want to talk about. And I think he was doing that very effectively. So, I think that was a big deal for him.
PHILLIPS: Now, earlier this morning, you had a chance to speak to Mitt Romney. Looking ahead to January 31st, Florida primary, what did he say about the huge Hispanic vote there?
O'BRIEN: You know, I asked him about the DREAM Act, because he has said he will veto the DREAM Act if he's in a position to do so. And as you know, Florida has 22 percent of the population is Latino. They polled very high on immigration issues and other issues about the economy, et cetera, et cetera.
Here's what he said when I asked him, does he feel like he might be handing election over to President Obama with his position on the DREAM Act?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Hispanic-American voters that I speak with are overwhelmingly concerned with opportunity. They want good jobs in America and rising incomes. And if they want a president who's going to talk to them about a handout or more benefits for free, they got that guy.
If they, instead, want a president who understands the economy, who's lived in the economy and understands what it takes to help people get jobs again, then I'm that person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So, he was really underscoring, Kyra, you know, the difference between legal and illegal immigration. He said -- you can tell that's what he's setting up for in the future to really try to campaign on that.
PHILLIPS: Soledad O'Brien, "STARTING POINT," every morning, 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Soledad, thanks so much.
Well, it certainly was a nail-biting evening with everyone waiting for the last votes of course to come in from Clinton County. Why?
Well, GOP officials there had compiled their results, but one precinct's numbers apparently didn't apparently get to the state Republican Party. And around 2:00 in the morning, CNN's Wolf Blitzer talked to two GOP officials in Clinton County who went out of their way to get the results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN LEAD POLITICAL ANCHOR: We got two women calling in from -- we've actually called them from Clinton County, from the Republican Party in Clinton County.
Edith, can you hear me?
EDITH PFEFFER, CLINTON COUNTY, IOWA REPUBLICAN CHAIRWOMAN: Yes, I can.
BLITZER: Carolyn is with you, too.
CAROLYN TALLETT, PRESIDENT, CLINTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN WOMEN: Yes. I received a call at about 12:20 from the state central committee asking if I knew how to get a hold of someone from 2-2. At that time they gave me a name and I tried calling because it's late here. They were in bed. And the chair was also in bed.
BLITZER: So, what you're saying is --
TALLETT: And so, I know they needed the information, so I came to Edith's home and pounded on the door and woke her up and got her up.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ward 2, precinct 2. Who won?
PFEFFER: Mitt Romney won with 51 votes. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul tied with 33 votes each.
KING: So, that's 51-33. If this is the missing precinct, Wolf, add it up there. Mitt Romney wins by 20 something votes.
BLITZER: What's the total for Clinton County -- Romney, Santorum, Paul?
PFEFFER: Oh -- I haven't -- oh, God, I added them up. I added them up a couple times. I - oh, man.
I showed Romney coming up with a total of 437 votes for Clinton County. Santorum had 354. Perry had 73. Paul had 292. Huntsman 12. Gingrich 151. Michele Bachmann 62. And there were 5 votes for Herman Cain.
KING: The numbers we just received from the county chairwoman right here in Clinton County, if these are the final numbers --
PFEFFER: What do you mean the numbers don't match?
BLITZER: Just to be precise. We didn't wake you up, the state chairs in Des Moines, they called you and they woke you up, is that right?
TALLETT: No, I woke her up. This is Carolyn.
KING: Carolyn woke her up to get the numbers because the state was --
TALLETT: CNN waiting for the results when I was told by the party. So, I came to wake up Edith who didn't answer her phone.
KING: You ladies don't have any fresh coffee brewed, do you?
TALLETT: No, but I think I'm ready for it.
BLITZER: Guess what, joining us now, on the phone, Edith and Carolyn. Let's give them a big round of applause.
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: Let me start with Edith.
Edith, thank you so much. On behalf of all of us, on behalf of the American people, we want to thank you for clearing up this mystery. Tell us how you feel right now, Edith?
PFEFFER: I'm just overwhelmed with all of this.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You're trending worldwide apparently on Twitter, I just learned from Ali Velshi. Are you big on the Twitter?
PFEFFER: Not so good. I just got an iPad for Christmas, but I don't know how to work it yet.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Would you ladies like to be the co-anchors of a new CNN program, "CNN after dark"?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: As you can see, Edith and Carolyn finally did save the day and the numbers were right.
All right. Well, in politics, it's possible to lose and still win. Just ask Rick Santorum who came up tantalizing short in the Iowa caucuses. So what got him that close? We'll talk about it, next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, before the iPad I used to joke that I made useless programs. But there's useless as a song, a movie, a story. It's something like that.
And all of a sudden, with the iPad, I could just go directly to people and say, check this thing out. We don't even have to label what it is. This is called bubble art. See, if you like it, and all of a sudden, they did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Talk about drama from the Iowa caucuses. Mitt Romney wins by a mere eight votes and Rick Santorum igniting new enthusiasm and surging to a very close second place. We want to talk more about how Iowans voted and why.
Our resident Iowan, Christine Romans, here to break it all down for us.
So, Christine, core values definitely proved to be pretty decisive here.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They did. And so did independents. Independents really broke for Ron Paul and the core values voters, the evangelical born-again Christians really broke for Rick Santorum. So, we use these entrance polls, Kyra, sort of show you exactly how that worked.
This is the party ID here. So, you have 23 percent of that turnout was independent, 75 percent was Republican and we looked at how that went. Obviously, for Santorum here and for Ron Paul over here for the independents.
Now, let's talk I don't want to even show you how specifically that was -- 43 percent of that independent vote went for Ron Paul and then 19 percent of the independents went for Mitt Romney who, of course, his critics would say he's too moderate. He's too moderate -- when you can see the independents like that.
I want to take a look at born-again Christians or evangelical Christians here, and you can see that they really related here to Rick Santorum. And when you look specifically at how this broke down, we can flick it over here, Kyra, and show you that Santorum got 32 percent of that evangelical or born-again vote here -- the values vote, that Christian values voter.
Ron Paul came in second here with 18 percent and then Rick Perry who spent an awful lot of time and money in the state came up with 14 percent, tying Romney and Gingrich, as well.
Let's look at how it is by gender. These are evangelical women, Kyra. Thirty-six percent going for Santorum, 17 percent for Ron Paul, and then you got this Perry/Romney/Gingrich sort of cluster right there for the third, fourth and fifth spot.
And then you take a look at for men here and you can see that Santorum 31 percent and Ron Paul 21 percent, and then, again, this sort of 14 percent for these three here. These are evangelical voters, again.
So, a really interesting trend in terms of the independents breaking over there for Ron Paul and that Santorum surge really being fueled by the core values voters in Iowa. Also, we showed you a little bit earlier in the hour, but for the Santorum movement, as well, those are voters who were deciding at the last minute, they were all starting in January -- or starting in December to now right up until the last minute, that Santorum surge continued, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Christine, thanks so much. Those numbers actually caused us to want to do more on faith, family and the evangelical vote.
So, David Brody, the chief correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network is going to join me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, he went to every Pizza Ranch in Iowa, he courted home schoolers and he eked out a razor-thin second place finish in Iowa. As David Brody puts it, Rick Santorum is a remarkable story -- the Mike Huckabee of 2012. Brody is the chief political correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network and he joins me live from Des Moines.
So David, Santorum is a devout Catholic -- he obviously appealed to Evangelicals -- we've been talking about that all morning -- who tend to vote their beliefs. DAVID BRODY, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CBN: Yes, I mean, look, not only did he spend time in the trenches, but he has street cred with Evangelicals. I mean this is a guy that has been playing in the culture wars for a couple of decades now and he also has a resume. You know a two-time United States senator.
And I think what we saw Kyra here is the reason Evangelicals broke for Santorum, they broke hard for him, they broke late for him is because they looked at Michele Bachmann and said, you know, we don't really see a president when they look at her and Rick Perry, oops, a couple too many oops moments for Rick Perry and he was just not ready for primetime in presidential politics.
And here comes Rick Santorum who had no oops moments and there wasn't much fire fired at him. And so here, Rick Santorum doing very well with the Evangelicals.
PHILLIPS: All right, you mention it's the authenticity, no measurable mistakes and he captured a portion of what you call the Teavangelicals. Leave it to you to name a new party.
BRODY: Yes, you know, leave to me to come out with a spiffy phrase there, Kyra. Look, I -- I -- the Teavangelicals. What are they? These are Evangelicals who very much support the Tea Party and its agenda. It's really that simple. And there's a big crossover in this country and what we saw, as you saw in that previous segment with some of these Evangelical numbers.
Rick Santorum did very well with that crowd and yes Ron Paul did very well with that crowd, too. Tea party Ron Paul, we know all about that. But he's also appealing to Evangelicals for a myriad of different reasons which is probably another segment on your show. But the point simply is, is that these two have a very distinct reason, a couple of different reasons for why teavangelicals like what they are hearing.
PHILLIPS: So final question David, you know in a state like New Hampshire where the Evangelical vote is not as strong, does that predict probably an extra hurdle for Santorum where Romney is already way ahead?
BRODY: Yes. I mean, its heavy lifting for Santorum in New Hampshire. I mean just clearly by the fact that Romney has a pretty sizable lead there. But you know what Rick Santorum has been able to do and what he needs to do is take this outside the Evangelical sphere if you will. So basically what he's been able to do so far in Iowa if you go everyday and listen to him he's been talking about not just faith and not just family, but he's been weaving all of that into a message about American exceptionalism.
And I think if he goes down that road and start to talk about that in New Hampshire and South Carolina, it's going to bode well for him.
I think, personally, Kyra, the way this is going to work for Rick Santorum is he's going to have to define the narrative. He's going to say I'm the authentic conservative candidate and I'm going against the inauthentic conservative candidate Mitt Romney. If he does that and that narrative sticks, he's got a shot.
PHILLIPS: David, good to see you. Thanks for joining me this morning.
BRODY: Thanks -- thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Much more coverage of the Iowa caucus ahead and a reminder for full results and all the latest political news, just go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's take a look at what's happening later on in the day.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour will address state lawmakers for the last time at noon today. The two-term governor leaves office next week. On Barbour's to-do-list for now, launching a speaking tour.
Also making his first major speech of 2012, President Obama he's scheduled to speak at a high school in Shaker Heights, Ohio at 1:15. His focus, state of the economy.
And later this afternoon a private wake will be held in New York for three Connecticut children killed in a Christmas morning house fire. A funeral service will take place tomorrow.
All right, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and start first with senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. She's in Iowa -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this certainly was an exciting night and it is an important kickoff to the presidential race on the Republican side. Some big winners and some people who probably will be going home. We'll have more at the top of the hour.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian in Manchester, New Hampshire. This is a state that will house the next big test for the Republican presidential hopefuls, but will the results in Iowa impact what happens here? I'll have more on that in the next hour.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm David Mattingly. In Aiken, South Carolina where the political landscape seems to be changing by the hour after what happened in Iowa. I'll have that story after the top of the hour.
PHILLIPS: All right guys, thanks so much.
We're also going to talk to the influential Iowa radio host Simon Conway. He was born a Brit, but he's 100 percent conservative Iowan now. He's got a lot to say about where the race goes from here, the value of endorsements and the 745 Iowans who voted for Jon Huntsman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. She's got a pretty good swing. Everything about the presidential candidates is getting scrutinized these days. Even the dance moves.
Michele Bachmann still showing off her moves last night taking a spin with her husband on stage at a rally in Iowa.
And the candidates' fashion choices also get a lot of attention from the public as well.
CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: it's not exactly a primary concern when a normally buttoned up candidate starts wearing jeans.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hold on, hold on. No applause allowed.
MOOS: He risks evoking the dreaded M word.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Introducing mom jeans.
MOOS: And lately there's been some tittering on Twitter. While trying to appear as a man of the people Mitt Romney stumbled into wearing mom jeans. The co-creator of the daily show went so far as to tweet, "I think Mitt Romney wears Lady Wrangler jeans."
ROMNEY: There's a family affair.
MOOS: But Romney's mom jeans look like tights compared to the ones President Obama once wore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And these look frumpy.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm a little frumpy. For those of you who want your president to look great in his tight jeans, I'm sorry. I'm not the guy.
MOOS: Apparently neither is Mitt Romney, though he was no slouch when it came to sprucing up CNN's very own Wolf Blitzer.
ROMNEY: You've got something on your coat. Maybe you know. Right on the front there. See that?
MOOS: Primary season has brought out another dubious fashion trend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden the sweater vest was like fear the vest. MOOS: That's presidential candidate Rick Santorum answering questions from Laura Ingraham.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a geek chic.
MOOS: About his penchant for sweater vests. This is the one that set things off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Internet lights up with, you know, what's this with the sweater vest?
MOOS: Now Rick's sweater vest has a Facebook page and a Twitter account with the sweater vest tweeting gems like "Rick Santorum is such a fiscal conservative he doesn't buy sleeves."
Santorum told the "New York Times" he buys most of his sweater vests at discounter Joseph A. Bank. There's even a sleeve slow me down montage online.
MOOS: Mom jeans, sweater vests, what's next, a gay rancher jacket? After Texas governor Rick Perry released this ad.
RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, when our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas.
MOOS: He was parodied and his jacket ended up in a "Brokeback Mountain" juxtaposition with Perry's outer wear compared to a gay cowboy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead.
MOOS: Whether it's jackets or sweater vests or mom jeans, at least even the most titillating fashion faux pas are bipartisan.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And lose to Barack O'Mama jeans.
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
