Romney in strong position in Republican race

THE volatile Republican presidential race in Iowa will come down to which way an enormous chunk of undecided voters breaks in the coming days.

With the first votes of the 2012 race for the White House looming tomorrow, Mitt Romney is contending for victory in a state that eluded him four years ago, while Rick Santorum — a hero among social conservatives — surges and libertarian-leaning Ron Paul slides.

With many factors at play, the dynamics can shift rapidly. Yet, two things were clear on the final weekend before the caucuses: the year-long effort to establish a consensus challenger to Romney had so far come up short, and Romney’s carefully laid plan to survive Iowa may succeed because conservative voters have failed to unite behind one candidate.