Now they tell us...

Ron Paul Just Won The Iowa Caucuses

Grace Wyler

Ron Paul won the majority of national convention delegates in Iowa this weekend, ending a Republican Party drama that has been unfolding since January.

The Paul campaign announced tonight that the Texas Congressman won 21 of the state’s 25 unbound delegates at Iowa’s state and district conventions this weekend, despite a concerted effort by the state party establishment and Mitt Romney supporters to purge the national delegate list of Ron Paul backers.

Here’s the release from the campaign:

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul has won a significant majority of Iowa’s Republican delegates to the national convention in Tampa.

Dr. Paul won 10 of 13 delegates elected at today’s state convention in addition to having won 11 of 12 delegates elected at last night’s district conventions, for a weekend total of 21 of 25 contestable delegates, all unbound.

Dr. Paul’s victory in the Hawkeye State affirms his delegate-attainment strategy and it has the added benefit of having occurred in the first-in-nation voting state, also a swing state.

“We thank the many Iowa Republican activists for working tirelessly toward this meaningful victory, in particular the work they performed in the service of constitutional government and personal liberty. This win is a real validation for our campaign and its many supporters in Iowa and across our great nation,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

“We look forward to bringing the Ron Paul delegation to Tampa and to making a significant, positive contribution to the 2012 Republican Party Platform,” added Mr. Benton.

The victory is further evidence of the growing power of Ron Paul's so-called Liberty Movement, mimicking similar national delegate landslides at state conventions in Maine, Nevada, and Louisiana.

It also gives Iowa its third Republican presidential winner of the 2012 election cycle — a potentially bad sign for a state that prides itself on its first-in-nation caucus status. The Republican Party descended into chaos after this year's January caucus, which was initially called for Mitt Romney until the state GOP declared Rick Santorum the real winner. The debacle led to the resignation of Iowa's state GOP chair, and Ron Paul's highly-organized army of grassroots supporters stepped in to fill the leadership void.

Still, the results of this weekend's Iowa conventions will have virtually no effect on Mitt Romney's all-but-certain nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa this summer. Paul effectively dropped out of the race last month — and his son, Sen. Rand Paul, has since endorsed Romney — and some of his delegates have hinted they won't even try to get the elder Paul's name on the ballot at the national convention.

“The movement has a huge responsibility when it goes to Tampa to show Iowa we’re a real movement and we’re not there to be ramble rousers,” Iowa Ron Paul supporter Dave Cushman told the Des Moines Register today. "“The goal is not to embarrass the party...The goal is to make the party stronger and broaden the base, and walk the Republican talk.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-wins-iowa-caucuses-2012-6#ixzz1y3nUjnNh