Here are some numbers that should help to put last night's caucuses into perspective. Three quick observations: First, not many people participated. Second, Mitt Romney made virtually no progress with voters in four years. Finally, the only people who truly scored victories were Ron Paul, who more than doubled his votes from 2008, and Rick Santorum, who nearly won despite being a deplorable human being. Even then, they had strong showings in a fairly unrepresentative event. See for yourself:
- Population of Iowa: 3,046,355
- Number of eligible voters in Iowa: 2,250,423
- Number of 2008 Republican caucus voters: 118,696
- Number of 2008 Democratic caucus voters: 236,000
- Number of 2012 Republican caucus voters: 122,255
- Number of 2012 Democratic caucus voters: 25,000
- Number and percentage of votes received by Mitt Romney in 2008: 30,021; 25%
- Number and percentage of votes received by Mitt Romney in 2012: 30,015; 25%
- Number and percentage of votes received by Ron Paul in 2008: 11,481; 10%
- Number and percentage of votes received by Ron Paul in 2012: 26,219; 21%
- Number and percentage of eligible voters who voted in caucuses in 2008: 354,355; 16.1%
- Number and percentage of eligible voters who voted in caucuses in 2012: 147,255; 6.5%
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