The Hawkeye state has been the bull's eye for presidential contenders since Jimmy Carter's stunning upset from Southern unknown to front runner who upset incumbent Gerald Ford in 1976.
Iowa's influence has diminished considerably, however, since the flip-flop over the final tally over the GOP caucus results earlier this year. First, Romney appeared to win the state by the most razor-thin of margins, then the voters tallied later gave the number one spot to Rick Santorum, who played well in rural states and evangelical voters, yet did not launch Santorum into the much-needed front-runner status to overtake Romney, whose money and campaign centers in key states enabled him to maintain his higher delegate tally.
Now with the GOP nomination all but wrapped up, Romney is on the offense in this key swing-state, which has flipped for the GOP, then the Democratic contender in every other presidential election since the disputed 2000 debacle.
Following the ouster of three Supreme Court judges for supporting gay marriage, Iowa has retrenched itself as a tilting-right Midwestern state, still resisting the liberal influence of media elites and academic circles, both of which enjoy an unsavory representative in the current president. Despite Romney's business pedigree and North Eastern roots, the GOP challenger should have little trouble shoring up the remaining skeptics of the Republican field, taking with him the Hawkeye state and the other central and mountain communities which uncharacteristically swung for Obama in 2008.
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