Johnston Gets Its Man; Branstad Endorses Romney and Santorum's Out

Johnston finally got its man months after the first-in-the nation Iowa Caucus.

On Jan. 3, Johnston voters chose Mitt Romney as the , but months have gone by since with wins going to Rick Santorum, too, as they duked it out for the Republican presidential nomination.

On Tuesday, , and Santorum suspended his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination.

Andy Christenson of Johnston said he was sorry to see Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, leave the race.

"I don't know all the reasoning for Sandorum leaving, but he's a very sound, very bright fellow. It looks like Romney will get the nomination, so the question is who will he pick for vice president."

That's the loaded question, Christenson said.

"He's got to unify the party," he said. "There are a lot of fractions that didn't continue. … You've got a lot of good people in the party, they all have to be reminded not to forget the broad spectrum of the members."

Romney Carried Johnston in January

Back in January, Romney received 463 votes in Johnston, while Santorum tallied 239 votes.

Overall, Johnston voters supported Mitt Romney's bid for president, the same result the whole of Polk County decided.

With 183 precincts reporting, Romney captured 6,240 votes. Paul came in second with 4,948 votes, while Santorum came in third with 4,735 votes. Gingrich pulled in fourth place with 2,797 votes.

Two weeks after the Jan. 3 vote ended with Romney the victor, . Iowa GOP officials 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.

Branstad’s Endorsement of Romney “Not Planned”

The same day Santorum suspended his campaign, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad officially endorsed Mitt Romney in his bid for the GOP nomination.

Branstad had steadfastly refused to endorse a candidate throughout the Iowa Caucus season and ever since, even as Romney pulled further and further ahead in the delegate count.

Rep. Kevin Koester, Ankeny said the timing of the governor’s announcement was unrelated to Santorum’s concession.

“The governor deliberated on this use of influence and it is a strong, positive message for Romney,” Koester said.