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The Big Lies › 2012 › File PF-0002
Debunked

'Romney Wins Iowa by 8 Votes' — Certified Count Says Santorum

The morning after the 2012 Iowa caucuses, national outlets reported as settled fact that Mitt Romney had won Iowa by eight votes over Rick Santorum.

First reported Jan 4, 2012 · Associated Press, UPI, CNN, Major national outlets
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: upi.com. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Neither party

An intra-Republican error: the wrong winner boosted Romney's inevitability narrative at Santorum's expense.

What was reported

The morning after the 2012 Iowa caucuses, national outlets reported as settled fact that Mitt Romney had won Iowa by eight votes over Rick Santorum.

What actually happened

Outlets relied on the Iowa GOP's election-night tally, which had Romney ahead 30,015 to 30,007. Two weeks later the certified count showed Santorum ahead by 34 votes, and results from eight precincts were missing and could never be recovered. Romney carried the 'won Iowa and New Hampshire' momentum narrative into the following primaries before the reversal.

The proof

The Iowa GOP's certified tally (Santorum 29,839, Romney 29,805), reported by CNN and NPR, reversed the election-night result; the party later formally named Santorum the winner.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

'Romney Wins Iowa by 8 Votes' — Certified Count Says Santorum — Debunked. The Iowa GOP's certified tally (Santorum 29,839, Romney 29,805), reported by CNN and NPR, reversed the election-night result; the party later formally named Santorum the winner. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/romney-wins-iowa-by-eight-votes-2012/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

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