The latest entrance poll data — based on all the waves of polling conducted tonight by a media consortium, before the local caucuses began — shows Ron Paul leading with 24%, followed by Mitt Romney at 23%, Rick Santorum 19%, and Newt Gingrich 13%.
However, some caveats must be explained. Notably, early caucus entrance poll data — or primary and general election exit polls — have not yet gone through adjustments for geographic weighting and distribution, a process that is undertaken once actual results start coming in.
Furthermore, they are also dependent on the honesty of respondents, and their general willingness to speak to a pollster about their vote.
