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  Mitt Romney won the first battle in the 2012 White House race, taking Iowa by a razor-thin margin to defeat Christian conservative Rick Santorum by just eight votes. (Jewel Samad, AFP)
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  The former Massachusetts governor won 30 015 votes in Tuesday's Republican nominating contest over 30 007 for Santorum. (Scott Olson, AFP)
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  The Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses, are the opening contest in the campaign to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama. (Dave Weaver, AP)
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  Romney was looking for a strong performance in Iowa to strengthen his shaky front-runner status. Iowa is not considered a natural stronghold for Romney, so a solid showing there could boost his campaign going into the New Hampshire primary, where he is the favorite. (Charlie Neibergall, AP)
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  Congressman Ron Paul was running a close third in the caucuses. (Eric Gay, AP)
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  Romney has cast himself as the most formidable potential rival to Obama. Romney's support has hovered around 25% in what is now a seven-candidate field. (Jewel Samad, AFP)
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  Almost all of Romney's rivals have had brief surges in recent months, only to fade quickly under intense scrutiny. Santorum and Paul were the latest to rise in Iowa, though both are considered longshots to win the Republican nomination. (Scott Olson, AFP)
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  Santorum has long been at the bottom of Republican polls, but he has campaigned hard in Iowa, where his solid conservative stances on social issues like abortion and gay marriage resonate with the large numbers of evangelicals who dominate the state's Republican base. (Charlie Riedel, AP)
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  It's not clear whether Santorum's message will carry as well in more moderate states or if he can come up with the funds or organisation to sustain a national campaign. (Alex Wong, AFP)
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  Returns from 1 567 of 1 774 precincts showed both Santorum and Romney with 24.6 percent of the votes. (Dave Weaver, AP)
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  Ron Paul had 21% of the votes. (Eric Gay, AP)
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  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had 13% of the votes. (Chris Carlson, AP)
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  Newt Gingrich arrives for his caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa. (Chris Carlson, AP)
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  Gingrich was followed by Texas Governor Rick Perry who had 10% of the votes. (Evan Vucci, AP)
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  Supporters of Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry wait to hear the results of the Iowa Caucus. (Jonathan Gibby, AFP)
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  Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann had 5% of the votes. (Justin Hayworth, AP)
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  A Michele Bachman supporter. (Eric Gay, AP)
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  Another candidate, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who served as Obama's ambassador to China, did not compete in Iowa. He chose to focus on the New Hampshire primary. (Matt Rourke, AP)
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  A victory in Iowa means a wave of publicity, a likely boost in campaign contributions and a guarantee of surviving for at least a few more contests. Candidates who do poorly may feel compelled to drop out of the race. (Jewel Samad, AFP)

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