reporting. it is a virtual tie between rick santorum and mitt romney. we've already heard from ron paul. he's coming in third. newt gingrich, we heard from him. he's coming in fourth. we heard from rick perry, a dramatic change. the texas governor not going to south carolina. as he originally anticipated. he's going back to texas to reassess whether he should continue in this campaign. michele bachmann, we heard from her. she says even though she's come in a very, very disappointing 5%, virtually last, she says she's going to continue. we'll see if she does. jon huntsman didn't really campaign in iowa, he's campaigning in new hampshire. he's not dropping out. a dramatic night, indeed. it doesn't get much closer than this. let's go over to cnn's john king over at the magic wall. first of all, john, rick perry, i think it's fair to say, all but announcing it's over for him. >> he said he was going back to texas to reassess. he's going to sit down with the team, look at the polls and talk to donors and says, is there any path to success in the campaign? dark red is romney, purple san tomorrow ru tor rum. i talked to him several hours ago. wolf. he said the plane will be warmed up in the morning, i'm going to aiken, south carolina. obviously the people in iowa, people in iowa humbled rick perry tonight. sounded like he was going home' to call it quits. the question in new hampshire, south carolina, beyond, who does that benefit? senator santorum will think it's him. speaker gingrich will think it's him. we're going to watch this play out. we're waiting for the final votes. we're up to 97%. see rick santorum with the tiniest lead. 27-10. do i have that right? is that 37 votes? that's 37 votes. i wasn't so bad at arithmetic. that's 37 votes. that's nuts, right? can he make it up? can romney catch up? can santorum pad the lead? story county, 2.7% of the population, only 67% of the vote in from from this county right now. santorum third. not a lot of votes, if the margin stays the same as that adds up, that alone is enough for romney to make it up when you're talking about 37 votes. let's boom it back out. dubuque, 92% of the vote, precincts, not vote, precincts. let me make that clear. 8% of the precincts. mitt romney ahead, rick santorum third. if the margins keep up, that's a place mitt romney can, doesn't mean he will, can make up the votes. more of the votes still out over here. 97% of the vote in linn county. romney winning convincingly in this county right now, by tonight's standards in iowa. if you're the santorum cam pawn where an we make up votes? 100% counted. 100% counted. the western part of the state, 100% counted. you keep coming out there. if you're looking for areas where the vote is still out, they are areas where right now mitt romney is leading. they're not all big areas. there are enough votes still out there, wolf, for mitt romney to catch up and eke this out. this is the second time around for mitt romney. spent $10 million in iowa last night. not as much this time. look at the dark red. that's mitt romney now. that's mitt romney four years ago. i want to just emphasize it by doing this very quickly. do this on the map. this on the map. this on the map. this on the map. then do this up here. governor romney may still eke this out tonight by a couple hundred votes. some people will say, though, mitt romney then, mitt romney now. look at this. this is ron paul cutting into romney country here. this is rick santorum cutting into romney country here. the biggest change tonight, wolf, the thing that may eke this out for mitt romney in the end, right here. polk county. winning with 29%. we still have more to come in tonight. go back in time four years ago, that was mike huckabee. it could all come down to the biggest populated county in the state, big if, we're counting the votes. pull it back out. 97%. wow. >> yeah. it's a very, very close race there. rick santorum, mitt romney, no mere what happens, they're heading off, they're continuing. ron paul is continuing. newt gingrich is going to be at the debate many new hampshire this week. rick perry is going back to texas to reassess what's going on. michele bachmann indicates she's continuing. we'll see. jon huntsman we know is in new hampshire. it looks like they may have lost one, maybe two as a result of this. >> traditionally iowa's role. we know the field. send it on to new hampshire. then from there. traditionally you have a decisive day in south carolina. we'll see if that happens this time. >> anderson cooper is hire. anderson, it's going to be fascinating if in fact rick perry after reassessing in texas announces he's dropping out or suspending. who's going to get that support, that rick perry support? >> with that change, michele bachmann's calculous and all. even in her speech tonight, she wasn't talking about, she never mentioned going on to south carolina, fighting in new hampshire. she just talked about she still felt she was one of the best candidates. all her panelists, pundits, analysts have been listening in. the race suddenly seems changed now with perry gone and gingrich angry. where do you see things? you sent out a tweet, listening to going riff. what did you say? >> i've never heard an attack concession speech before. i just thought that was one of the most ungracious moments in politics. typically when you lose, you accept the loss. you move on and make your case the next day. >> he was gracious toward rick santorum. >> then we went after ron paul and mitt romney which you don't do in a concession speech. newt is throwing the gloves on the ice and getting ready for the fight tomorrow. >> we heard a couple amens during gingrich's speech. i saw hand waving in the air. >> he had church over here. the tie on the table. >> do you anticipate a tougher fight? is that what excites you? >> look, ron paul and romney savaged gingrich. i mean, that's part of -- he is mad. i thought that bachmann's speech was probably one of the really weird speeches i've seen now in an election. >> she read it all out. >> kind of read it out. it was not sort of typical her. and i hate to say this, because it wasn't a good night, but rick perry is the worst presidential campaign/candidate in american history. no one started -- >> no. >> in american history? >> he started out -- >> fred thompson, rudy giuliani. >> let him finish his thoughts. >> he was afternoon fire. he was on fire for a while. there's nobody that had worse debates than he did. there was nobody who raised more money to less effect. not giuliani, not fred thompson, not fred conley, not anybody. >> you said the worst candidate in history. >> given the where he started. if somebody, like, started and was a major tier candidate, we were ready to be sort of blown away here. and this is -- i'm sorry, he was the worst ever. this guy was the worst ever. >> rick perry is ryan leaf. rudy giuliani is certainly jemarcus russell. anderson, first of all, look -- they certainly know jamarcus russell lsu. when you look at newt gingrich, new hampshire is about the economy. he goes on this tangent attacking ron paul about foreign policy. makes no mention about the foreign policy. david said he's so upset and so angry. you need to focus if you actually want to stay in this campaign. i'm not quite sure what in the world he was trying to accomplish here. the other piece, rick perry, first time he's ever lost the election. he got his hats handed to him. look, this whole notion of go back to texas and reassess, he's not going to be in this campaign. so i mean, look, he's done. >> i was a fred thompson girl last turnaround. perry was one of the candidates i didn't completely love. when i looked at the gop bill. it's harsh, but i don't -- there are certain candidates i strongly disagree with. i feel like he's having his fred thompson time. he came in with a lot of energy, just like fred thompson did. fred thompson took a nap in the middle of the election. i don't want perry to take a nap in the middle of the election. who could take out mitt romney? rick santorum cannot take out mitt romney, neither can ron paul, neither can newt gingrich. perry seems to me one of the stronger candidates to take out. >> that was his calculous for staying in. >> here's, again, what's so important in this race. whether there's a significant anti-romney wing of the republican party, and it's playing out tonight. who was running the smartest race, focused on the economy, jobs, disciplined, doesn't take the bait? mitt romney is running a straight campaign. again, give him credit for it. his problem is he still has a lot of republicans and this is why rick santorum surged, who aren't for him. as long as multiples stay in, that's what gets fascinating if perry drops out. if perry is out, bachmann is out and it's a four person race in new hampshire, do they divide and conquer? >> it's amazing to run a smart race when you're coddled by other ones. none of the candidates would dare knock him on a single issue. some of them are angling to get jobs if he's the perspective nominee. >> that's the point. he's running a smart race. he has a talented campaign. he has not made any mistakes. they don't want to vote for him. if he had an excuse, it would be easier -- he's going to beat a nominee, but they don't want to vote for him. the fact he's run a good campaign and the fact they've been smart about everything and made all the right decisions makes it all the more stunning he can't do any better now than he did -- >> how nasty do you think it's going to get between gingrich and romney? >> delicious. >> can't get no better. lsu is in the bcs championship game. the saints in the playoffs. they're getting ready to go after each other with meat cleavers. i'm excited. >> you know about delicious coming from new orleans. >> i will say this about governor rick perry. when you start your campaign in a burnt orange tie, as an agie, you deserve to lose. >> wolf is standing by looking at the numbers. >> it's as close as possible. mit romney and rick santorum. here's something you're going to see no place else. when we come back, we have a brand new cnn poll. we've just conducted in new hampshire, from iowa. they're all going to new hampshire next tuesday. the primaries in new hampshire. the first primary in the nation. we're going to tell you what we're seeing in new hampshire now in the aftermath of what we've just seen in iowa. our special coverage continues right after this. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon. try bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. the next contest, new hampshire. next tuesday. and we've just taken a poll in the aftermath of what has happened in iowa to see what's going on. how have likely primary voters in new hampshire, how have they changed, if at all, as a result of what has happened in iowa? john king is here with us. take a look at these numbers. this is the new cnn/orc poll. caucus watchers. people who watched iowa closely in new hampshire. how have they changed? take a look at this. in late december, 47% were for romney. 47% still for romney in new hampshire. ron paul 17% late december. 17% still. same for huntsman hasn't changed. 13%. then 13%. now. santorum has doubled from 5% to 10% in new hampshire. gingrich has lost a little bit. 12% to 9%. but romney's got a huge lead in new hampshire. >> if you look at the top three there, you would say, and as a new englander, i can say this, stubborn yankee pride saying we're not going to be influenced from what happens in iowa. you see the evidence of a santorum bounce. this is a poll of people who are watching the iowa caucus coverage tonight. not a poll of all republicans in new hampshire. if you poll all republicans in new hampshire, our most recent poll i believe had governor romney at about 40% in a healthy lead. this is a higher number among the more active republicans watching the coverage. see a bounce for santorum. one week, it's a lot of time to go from 10% to 47%. hurt for newt gingrich, underperforming in iowa. tougher tone for newt gingrich. if you're governor romney, one of your questions tonight was, if i have a tight race in iowa, if i come in below what i did in 2008, will i then suffer in new hampshire? zero early evidence of romney having any negative effect. that's the biggest impact here. he's the overwhelming front-runner in new hampshire. >> this poll has just been taken in the aftermath of what we've seen in iowa. hold on for a second. we also have some breaking news involving this republican presidential campaign. you got the news. john, tell our viewers what you've learned. >> i'm told by a senior republican source very close to the arizona senator, john mccain, the 2008 republican presidential nominee, that he will travel to new hampshire tomorrow to endorse governor romney. remember, john mccain carried new hampshire last time. it was his strongest state in the primary campaigns. romney was a rival then and quickly endorsed mccain after he dropped out of the race after new hampshire around super tuesday. the irony here, remember, rick santorum has faced questions in the last week in iowa about why did you, if you're a conservative, how did you endorse, how did you possibly endorse -- you see senator santorum, how did you endorse mitt romney last night? santorum said he endorsed romney to try to stop john mccain. they were not friends in the senate. you could say senator mccain is returning a favor. >> little payback right now. here's rick santorum. he's done amazingly well. let's listen to him give his speech to his supporters. >> as all of you know, i do not speak from notes but there are a couple things i want to say sththat are a little more emotional. i'm going to read them as i wrote them. c.s. lewis said a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the words. my best friend, my life mate, who sings that song when i forget the words is my wife, karen. people have asked me how i've done this, sitting back at the polls, and not getting a whole lot of attention paid to us. how did you keep going out to iowa in 99 counties and 381 town hall meetings and speeches? well, every morning when i was getting up in the morning to take on that challenge, i've required a strength from another particular friendship. one that is sacred. i've survived the challenges so far by the daily grace that comes from god. forgiving me his grace every day, for loving me, i offer a public thanks to god. third thanks. thank you so much, iowa. you, you by standing up and not compromising, by standing up and being bold and leading, leading with that burden and responsibility you have to be first, you have taken the first step of taking back this country. this journey started officially just a few months ago in june when i stood on the steps of the county courthouse in somerset county, pennsylvania. i decided to go there, not the typical place someone announces for president. it's not where i was born. it's not where i ever lived. it's from my grandfather came back in 1925. he came by himself, even though he was married with two children. one of them being my father. he came after having fought in world war i because mussolini had been in power now three years and he had figured out that fascism was something that would crush his spirit and his freedom and give his children something less than he wanted for. so he made a sacrifice. he left to the coal fields of southwestern pennsylvania. he worked in the mine at a company town. got paid with coupons, he used to call them. lived in a shack. eventually he figured out that that was a trip to nowhere, so he started taking money less so he could start to save. and he did. and after five years, he got his citizenship and brought my father over at the age of 7. he ended up continuing to work in those mines until he was 72 years old. digging coal. i'll never forget the first time i saw someone who had died. it was my grandfather. and i knelt next to his coffin and all i could do is eye level, look at his hands. they were enormous hands. and all i could think was those hands dug freedom for me. and so to honor him, i went to somerset county, because i believe foundationally, while the economy is in horrible condition, while our country is not as safe as it was, and while threats are rising around the world, while the state of our culture under this administration continues to decline with the values that are unlike the values that built this country, that the essential issue in this race is freedom. whether we will be a country that believes that government can do things for us better than we can do for ourselves, or whether we believe, as our founders did, that rights come to us from god and when he gave us those rights, he gave us the freedom to go out and live those rights out to build a great and just society not from the top down but from the bottom up. my grandfather taught me basic things that my dad taught me. over and over again, work hard. work hard. and work hard. and i think about that today. there's so many men and women right now who would love to work hard, but they don't have the opportunity. we have two parties who are out talking about how they're going to solve those problems. one wants to talk about raising taxes on people who have been successful and redistributing money, increasing dependency in this country, promoting more medicare, medicaid and food stamps and all sorts of social welfare programs and passing obama-care. to provide even more government subsidies. more and more dependency. more and more government. exactly what my grandfather left in 1925. and then there's another vision. there's another vision. republican vision which is let's just cut taxes. let's just reduce spending and everyone will be fine. i believe in cutting taxes. i believe in balancing budgets. i propose cutting $5 trillion from this budget over the next five years. i support a balanced budget amendment that puts a cap at 18% of gdp as a guarantee of freedom for this country. but i also believe we as republicans have to look at those who are not doing well in our society by just cutting taxes and balancing budgets. and that's why i put forth a plan that iowans responded to. it's a plan that says, yes, let's flatten the tax code, get rid of it, replace it with five deductions. let's create two rates, 10 and 28. why 28? it's good enough for ronald reagan, it's good enough for me. then i'd take the corporate tax, cut that in half because it's the highest in the world and we need to be competitive. when i traveled around iowa to the small towns, i found a lot of those small towns we