Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee placed second, nearly 400 votes ahead of Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who rounded out the top three. The runners-up spent considerable time before the poll sparring for the party's evangelical voters.
Historically, no candidate who has failed to place first or second in the poll has gone on to secure the Republican nomination at the caucuses, presently slated to begin in January.
This year, however, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, widely considered to be Romney's top competitors, opted not to attend the poll. Arizona Sen. John McCain also skipped the event, although all three no-shows remained on the ballot.
Romney's finish compares to George W. Bush's finish at the 1999 poll; the president prevailed with 31.3 percent of the vote that year.
"It's too bad the other guys weren't competing here," Romney said at a news conference following the results. "If they'd thought they could be successful here, they would have been here. Their decision not to compete here was not a decision based on a position of strength."
Huckabee said his second-place finish was better than his campaign could have hoped for.
"I think what happened for us today was stunning," he said. "We said all week the momentum was with us and it would be a historic day. It certainly has been."
He said his campaign really over-performed, spending little money compared to other candidates who shoveled in more cash in an attempt to ensure a good place.
"The bigger story is that we did it with not a dime of paid advertising," Huckabee said. "We did it with the kind of groundwork that will win the caucuses in January."
Brownback expressed optimism to reporters about his finish.
"I'd love to have won it, but I think it's a ticket forward. I'm a tortoise in this race," he said. "Iowa's still the field of dreams. I've still got the dream of a senator Kansas farmer becoming president. I think we're still in place to be able to do that."
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo finished fourth. Alan Moore, the national press secretary for the Tancredo campaign, said the finish was pleasing.
"It's the type of momentum we need to succeed in the caucuses and we're excited," he said. "Finishing in the top four proves that immigration is a major issue, and it is going to be a major issue in the caucuses."
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who placed fifth, told his outspoken and visible supporters to be proud of their work and to continue their fight.
"Winning is very, very important," he said. "But if you win only because you compromise your principles because you have a lot of money, it means nothing."
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson finished in sixth place, about 250 votes shy of Paul.
Rennick Remley, Iowa communications director for Thompson's campaign, would not tell reporters whether this meant the campaign was over.
"I hate to say anything, but one should never assume," he said. "I think we all know what, yeah, I can't, I can't officially say."
He added that his staff had expected to finish in the top three "for sure."
Results of the poll, initially scheduled for release at 7 p.m., were delayed for about 90 minutes while one of the 18 Diebold vote-counting machines was hand-checked.
The holdup may serve to reignite complaints by supporters of Ron Paul who warned of potential problems with the machines. Their earlier attempt to block voting was denied when a federal judge refused to grant an injunction, a decision upheld Saturday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
Staff Writer Gavin Aronsen can be reached at 232-2161, Ext. 472, or garonsen@amestrib.com
Staff Writer William Dillon can be reached at 232-2161, Ext. 361, or william.dillon@amestrib.com
Iowa straw poll results
| Votes | Percent | ||
| 1. Mitt Romey | 4,156 | 31.5 percent | |
| 2. Mike Huckabee | 2,587 | 18.1 percent | |
| 3. Sam Brownback | 2,192 | 15.3 percent | |
| 4. Tom Tancredo | 1,961 | 13.7 percent | |
| 5. Ron Paul | 1,305 | 9.1 percent | |
| 6. Tommy Thompson | 1,039 | 7.3 percent | |
| 7. Fred Thompson | 203 | 1.4 percent | |
| 8. Rudy Giuliani | 183 | 1.3 percent | |
| 9. Duncan Hunter | 174 | 1.2 percent | |
| 10. John McCain | 101 | 1.0 percent | |
| 11. John Cox | 41 | 0.1 percent |
