The republican presidential nomination race took another unexpected turn when rick santorum won party caucuses in colorado and minnesota , two states that plumped for mitt romney in the 2008 primaries .
It 's even fair to call it a historic victory , for mr. romney becomes the first nonincumbent republican candidate to win both the iowa caucuses and the new hampshire primary back-to-back .
She noted that people in far away nations had followed the election campaign , even learning about the iowa caucuses , which started the process in early january .