COMMENTARY | The Iowa caucuses were held Tuesday night, and there were a lot of surprises regarding the Republican presidential candidates. As I watched the coverage of the Iowa caucus on television, here are a couple of things that I noticed which might affect the presidential race down the road.
I was very surprised that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum finished in second place, only eight votes behind Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Santorum has been steadily rising in the polls now for a few weeks, and has become a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination, which is a surprise all the way around. I have heard Santorum on the radio quite a bit lately, since political commentator Glenn Beck has featured him on his radio show at least once a week. I think that the attention Beck has given Santorum has helped him gain in the polls, and could be one reason why he has done so well at the Iowa caucus. I found it surprising that out of all of the candidates for the Republican Party; it was Santorum that slowly climbed his way to the top. As for how this might affect the nomination down the road, I believe Santorum has solidified his surge in the polls as the real deal, and might be able to sway more conservative or Evangelical voters. Santorum might be a little vanilla as far as HIS personality, but I think he will find a way to connect more with the American people, especially given how personal his speech was after the Iowa caucus.
I also found it surprising that it sounds like Texas Governor Rick Perry is going to drop out of the presidential race, given the remarks he made after finishing in fifth place with just 10 percent of the votes. Perry did not come right out and say he was going to drop out, but said he would go back to Texas to reflect on his campaign, and whether or not he should move forward at this point. Perry also said that he was going to use the power of prayer to help him decide what to do, which I thought was a very respectful and dignified way to possibly be ending his bid for the nomination. If Perry does drop out, it could mean a lot of money and supporters for another candidate, such as Santorum or Paul. The fact that the Perry voters might be going elsewhere if he drops out, leads me to think that there will be a stronger frontrunner for the nomination down the road.