Rick Santorum Returns to Central Iowa on Thank-You Tour

Against all odds, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum achieved victory in the Iowa caucus campaign. Wednesday night, he returns to Windsor Heights to thank metro-area supporters.

The former Republican senator from Pennsylvania plans to hold a thank you and meet-and-greet barbecue picnic for metro-area supporters Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Colby Park, at 6900 School St., Windsor Heights.

The picnic is the final event on Santorum's schedule through Iowa, where he also plans to thank voters in Coralville, Bettendorf and Dubuque.

Santorum initially slumped in Iowa, but as caucus day drew near, his campaign gathered surprisign momentum. A contested vote count initially put competitor Mitt Romney eight votes ahead of Santorum on Jan. 3. 

The Iowa caucus vote totals were the closest since it began in 1976.

Two weeks after the Jan. 3 vote seemed to end with Romney the winner, . Iowa GOP officials had spent two weeks checking vote counts to find that results changed in 131 precincts around the state and votes from eight precincts were never turned in.

So the certified results gave Santorum the win, but Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn wouldn't declare the former Pennsylvania Senator the outright winner, telling the press that wasn't his place. He reversed that position several days later.