From Des Moines, Iowa
It wasn't decided until after 1:30 am Central Time, when the state of Iowa finally figured out where the numbers were from one "missing" precinct, as Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Iowa Caucus by just eight votes over Rick Santorum.
If you honestly predicted the Romney-Santorum exacta in Iowa, then you were one of the few, because just three weeks ago that idea would have drawn chuckles from political experts.
But on Tuesday night, there was Santorum celebrating his long shot surge to the top, as he won a major moral victory over the candidate seen by many as the likely nominee of the Republican Party.
"It is a message that will resonate across this land," Santorum told his supporters. "It is a message that I know will resonate in New Hampshire."
Romney meanwhile was trying to play it off as a good night for him as well - since winning is always a good thing.
"Thank you, Iowa, for the great sendoff you're giving us and the others in this campaign," as Romney used his speech to focus mainly on President Obama's record, the relentless focus for the former Massachusetts Governor on the November election.
Santorum though was flexing his own verbal muscles, urging more conservative voters to jump on board with him in New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states still to vote.
One thing that certainly helps Santorum for the future was the announcement by Rick Perry that he would be returning to Texas to figure out what's next - instead of going straight to South Carolina to campaign.
"I've decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward," Perry said while flanked by his family.
In other words, the Texas Governor seems like he is going to be on the sidelines soon.
While Michele Bachmann did not follow suit, her lackluster performance gave little indication that she can breathe new life into her campaign, which could help Santorum consolidate support among conservatives even more.
That seems to make this GOP race about Romney and Santorum, along with third place finisher Ron Paul and the fourth place Newt Gingrich, who used his post-caucus speech to serve notice that he is ready to hit hard at both Romney and Paul.
"His views on foreign policy I think are stunningly dangerous for the survival of the United States," Gingrich said of Paul, even taking a shot at the Texas Congressman over the issue of who was responsible for the Nine Eleven attacks.
As for Romney, Gingrich was seething with anger about the negative ads run against him by allies of Romney in Iowa, as Gingrich made clear he will try his best to take apart Romney's record, labeling him the "Massachusetts Moderate."
"We are not going to go out and run nasty ads," said Gingrich, "but I do reserve the right to tell the truth," Gingrich said to loud cheers from his supporters.
"And if the truth seems negative, that may be more of a comment on his record than on politics," Gingrich added.
In other words, look for Gingrich to hit hard in coming days, as the slashing Newt of old may be back.
As for Paul, while he finished a strong third, his performance was overshadowed by Santorum's surge - but the Texas Congressman made clear that he's in this race to stay.
"We will go on," Paul vowed to his cheering supporters, "We will raise the money" needed to run a viable campaign, as he said there was "nothing to be ashamed of" in the third place finish.
And so, the candidates leave here for New Hampshire with a different dynamic. Rick Santorum definitely has the momentum as the anti-Romney candidate. Paul has shown he can play with the big dogs. Newt Gingrich is ready to take the gloves off against both Romney and Paul. Rick Perry seems to be ready to quit and Michele Bachmann is on the verge of being irrelevant.
And then, add in Jon Huntsman to the mix in the Granite State. They'll have six days to sort things out in a state that should go to Romney.
But as we saw in Iowa, sometimes the voters have different ideas than the candidates.
