Winners and Losers Jan. 4: Santorum On Top At Second

A daily look at the winners and losers on the road to the S.C. GOP Primary.

Considering most of the Palmetto State's primary voters were already in bed by the time Iowa posted its final results, Tuesday's caucus became Wednesday morning's caucus results. Fallout swiftly ensued.

Winner: Mitt Romney may have won the caucus, but a narrow 8-vote win meant the real story was former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who shattered expectations with nearly the strongest second place finish a runner-up could hope for.

There were other flaws in Romney's win. He outspent Santorum by $4 million in the state, only to arrive at the same result. And, while he might enjoy frontrunner status, Romney actually received six fewer votes in the Iowa caucus in 2012 than he did four years ago, perpetuating the "ceiling" assessment of Romney's support among Republicans.

Meanwhile, Santorum revelled in his new status as the Romney alternative. Gingrich, Paul and Perry are still hanging around and Huntsman awaits the game in New Hampshire. But the attention today was all about Santorum, who has already raised $1 million since the caucuas. 

Loser: In a press conference Wednesday morning, .

"Last night, the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice," Bachmann said. "And so I have decided to stand aside."

In a video message to supporters in early December, campaign manager Keith Nahigian explained the math for Bachmann's road to victory.

"Winning in Iowa is very critical in launching her path to victory," he said. "A win in Iowa will propel her to a win in South Carolina. A win in South Carolina will propel her to be basically be one-on-one with one other candidate going to Florida."

After campaigning heavily in Iowa, Bachmann could find only 5 percent of the vote in the end, missing that important first victory in her equation. It was time to go.

Don't take our word for it. Take the poll below or leave your comments about who won the day.