USA: Republicans in Iowa cast votes for their preferred presidential candidate, the start of an eight month long campaign to select the nominee who will take on Barack Obama in the November election

Record ID: 346451

  • Title: USA: Republicans in Iowa cast votes for their preferred presidential candidate, the start of an eight month long campaign to select the nominee who will take on Barack Obama in the November election
  • Date: 4th January 2012
  • Summary: CLIVE, IOWA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 03, 2012) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS SOME FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** IOWA RESIDENTS REGISTERING TO VOTE IN THE IOWA CAUCUS PEOPLE ON QUEUE TO REGISTER IOWA RESIDENTS REGISTERING TO VOTE PEOPLE HOLDING SIGNS SUPPORTING THEIR CANDIDATE WIDESHOT VOTERS SEATED AND LISTENING TO SPEECHES BY SURROGATE SPEAKERS OF THE CANDIDATES (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOWA VOTER MARGARET WILLIAMS, WHO IS NOT YET DECIDED BETWEEN MITT ROMNEY AND RICK SANTORUM, SAYING: "I really like Mitt Romney and I also like Rick Santorum, so, and yet I am here to hear some more speeches because I am not sure on anything." (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOWA VOTER DAN DICKMAN, WHO SUPPORTS MITT ROMNEY, SAYING: "I think, you know, we really need to see job creation. We're still down almost seven million jobs from the peak employment in the past. I think we really need a candidate who understands the private sector of the economy better than the current administration." (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOWA VOTER DR. RON GROOTERS, WHO SUPPORTS NEWT GINGRICH SAYING: "Newt Gingrich. He's the only one that really knows what he is doing, and can say it like he wants to no matter who is talking to. We need some strength like that. We need some insight like that into governing." (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOWA VOTER BRANDON THOMAS, WHO SUPPORTS MITT ROMNEY, SAYING: "Mitt Romney. He has the best chance to pull in moderates to defeat Barack Obama." REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RICK PERRY WALKING ON STAGE TO ADDRESS THE VOTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RICK PERRY SAYING: "This election is not about me; it's about you. It's about our children. It's about our grandchildren. And it's about having a President of the United States who respects the constitution of this country, who understands that we must pass a balanced budget amendment to the United States constitution and do it as soon as we can. We know that we have got to have a part time Congress. (Cheers and applause). Cut their pay, cut the amount of time that they're spending in Washington, D.C. Cut their staffs. Send them back home. Let them work a job like you do, living with a constituency under the laws that they pass." VARIOUS VOTERS PLACING BALLOTS IN WHITE BALLOT BOXES VARIOUS ELECTION OFFICIALS COUNTING THE BALLOTS PROJECTION OF COMPUTER SCREEN WITH A TABULATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE VOTING IN ONE OF THE TWO VOTING DISTRICTS WITHIN THE PRECINCT
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3REBWTSZHUOJWTBZF3FTP9YCH
  • Story Text: Iowa Republicans cast the first votes of the 2012 White House campaign on Tuesday (January 03, 2012), with Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul in a high-stakes battle to win the party's kick-off nominating contest.
    Voters gathered in schools, libraries and other public spots across the state to render judgment in the frequently shifting Republican race to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.
    At one well-attended voting precinct in suburban Des Moines, the 7 Flags Events Center, a group of 637 people cast their ballots. Mitt Romney emerged as the favorite in that particular precinct with 239 votes across the two voting districts within the West Des Moines jurisdiction. Rick Santorum received 133 votes and Ron Paul had 105 votes. Rounding the field, Newt Gingrich had 72 votes, Rick Perry had 67, and Michelle Bachmann had 18 votes. Jon Huntsman, who did not campaign in Iowa, received two votes, and one voter expressed no preference.
    Perry dropped by the precinct center in Clive, Iowa to shake some hands and campaign for a few 11th hour votes.
    "This election is not about me; it's about you. It's about our children. It's about our grandchildren. And it's about having a President of the United States who respects the constitution of this country, who understands that we must pass a balanced budget amendment to the United States constitution and do it as soon as we can," he said.
    The statewide results of the Iowa Caucus were still to be tabulated and announced by the state Republican party later in the evening.
    The event is the culmination of months of campaigning in Iowa, and starts a frenzied schedule that will include six debates in January and three more state contests -- on January10 in New Hampshire, January 21 in South Carolina and January 31 in Florida.
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