Local Republicans Predict Outcome of Iowa Caucus

Tuesday night marks one of the first real steps toward the Republican nomination as candidates rally in the midwest for the Iowa caucus. 

Even though it's extremely early in the race, candidates have spent the greater part of the last month campaigning in Iowa with the hopes of a good turnout on the national stage. 

Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum have garnished most of the recent media attention, but Patch went to the District 32 Republicans club in Severn to see who local GOP supporters expect to win in the Iowa caucus. 

Prior to the meeting’s guest speaker, I polled the attendants of the District 32 Republican Club to see who they thought would walk away victorious Tuesday night.

Of those attending the meeting at , the majority predicted that Mitt Romney would win the Iowa caucus.

Of the 20 people I polled, nine said Romney would win. Rick Santorum took second with five votes with both Ron Paul and New Gingrich earning three votes.

“Romney had a good ground game, he’s spent a lot of time in the state,” 23-year-old Ron Ozarowski said.

Club Vice President Randy Griffin said Romney’s heaviliy funded campaign gave him an edge over other candidates. But the club’s president, Stephen Reigle, was hesitant to place too much influence on the result.

“The person who wins the Iowa caucus almost never wins the nomination,” Reigle said, referencing Mike Huckabee’s victory in 2008, only to lose the primary nomination to John McCain. 

Of the candidates in the Iowa caucus, who do you think is best suited to become president?