Will The Iowa Caucuses Be A Good Underdog Story?

Image credit:  Mark Marturello/Des Moines Register Illustration

The good folks of Iowa are set to light the fuse for the 2012 Republican presidential contest on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. 

Today we learn that the latest Iowa Poll shows a surprise three-way matchup in contention to win the Iowa Republican caucuses:  Mitt Romney (24%), Ron Paul (22%) and Rick Santorum (15%).

The final Iowa Poll before the caucuses is seen as a strong indicator for the first-in-the-nation voting.

According to the poll, 41 percent of caucus goers have a first choice, but said they could still be persuaded to support another candidate, while 51 percent said their minds are made up.

Cook Political Report founder, Charlie Cook, describes Santorum as the “remainder man” citing that “undecideds decided to decide and Santorum was the fresh choice.”

You have to admire the tenacity of a candidate who lived in the back seat of a car as he crisscrossed the area of the country often referred to as the “American Heartland.”  He has spent more than 100 days campaigning in Iowa slipping “into every county when few were watching.”