U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas received some heat for heading home to the Lone Star State in the last weekend before the Iowa caucus. While Paul took third, he lost out to Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

While Mitt Romney may have beaten Rick Santorum by 8 votes, Paddy Power, the largest oddsmaker in Ireland, is giving refunds to those who thought the former Pennsylvania senator would win in Iowa. On Wednesday, a day after Romney beat Santorum by 8 votes in the Hawkeye State, Paddy Power issued $6,422 in refunds.

Having lost by only 8 votes the Rick Santorum supporters had every reason to be disappointed, but as far as were concerned the margin for error is just too small and weve decided to refund the money, said a spokesman for Paddy Power on Thursday.

As the days tick down until Tuesday when New Hampshire voters hold the first presidential primary, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts continues to lead in the Granite State.

Former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana, focusing on New Hampshire in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and also running for the Americans Elect nomination, came out swinging at President Barack Obamas trade policies.

"'Made in America' is at the heart of my economic policy," said Roemer in a statement released late on Wednesday. "America, unlike our rivals, has no trade strategy.

The vultures were flying around Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Rick Perry of Texas after his fifth place showing in the Iowa caucus. Perry announced that he was heading back to the Lone Star State to contemplate what to do next -- and on Wednesday he announced that he was staying in the race and would focus on South Carolina. The Palmetto State will hold its primary on Jan. 21, after New Hampshire has its say on Tuesday.

And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State," Perry posted on Twitter. Here we come, South Carolina!!!

On Wednesday, after a sixth place showing in the Iowa caucus, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota suspended her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Bachmann spoke to the media in West Des Moines on Wednesday morning and called for the repeal of the federal health-care law that President Barack Obama backed. She played down her political ambitions.

On Wednesday, the National Federation of Independent Business/Florida announced it is bringing on board longtime Florida Republican political operative Pablo Diaz to serve as the groups legislative director. Diaz had served with the Republican Party of Florida, moving up in the ranks to become deputy executive director.

Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer took aim at Rick Santorum on Wednesday morning as the campaign to see which Republican will emerge to challenge Barack Obama heads to New Hampshire. Roemer has focused on New Hampshire in recent months.

The team behind Ron Paul downplayed the fact that Rick Santorum -- rather than their own candidate -- placed second behind Mitt Romney in Iowa. Paul placed third, some 3 percent behind the other two Republican presidential hopefuls.

The Ron Paul campaign is celebrating a great victory tonight, insisted Jesse Benton, Pauls campaign chairman. There were three tickets out of Iowa, and Ron Paul earned one of them.

When the dust cleared, Mitt Romney won the Iowa caucus by 8 votes -- taking 30,015 votes to Rick Santorums 30,007 votes. Romney won 13 delegates while Santorum took 12 delegates. The race now moves on to New Hampshire, which Santorum has said he will take part in. New Hampshire will hold the first presidential primary on Tuesday.