Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has been declared the winner of the Iowa primary, beating out former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum by just eight votes. It was the closest margin in the history of the Iowa Republican caucus. Matt Strawn, the chair of the Republican Party in Iowa, announced the results.

Matt Strawn: “But I can report, with 1,770 precincts reporting, Governor Mitt Romney received 30,015 votes, Senator Rick Santorum received 30,007 votes. Congratulations to Governor Mitt Romney, winner of the 2012 Iowa caucuses. Congratulations to Senator Santorum for a very close second place finish and an excellent race here. And congratulations of Congressman Paul and all the other candidates who competed in the 2012 Iowa caucuses.”

Texas Rep. Ron Paul finished in third place, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in fourth, Texas Governor Rick Perry in fifth, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann in sixth, and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman in seventh. After the results came in, Perry announced he is returning to Texas to reassess his campaign. Perry spent the most out of all the candidates on the Iowa race but received just 10 percent of the vote, resulting in an average of $480 per vote.