Santorum seen here hugging a supporter during campaigns/FILE
WASHINGTON, Jan 19 – The Republican Party on Thursday declared Rick Santorum the winner of the Iowa caucuses, upending rival Mitt Romney who was originally shown to have won the first-in-the-nation nomination vote two weeks ago.
The certified vote count showed Santorum 34 votes ahead of Romney, in a sure boost for the social conservative aiming to derail frontrunner Romney, but the absolute final tally may never be known, as the Iowa Republican Party reported that results from eight precincts in the Midwestern state were missing.
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