An online publication in Iowa ranks the top-10 contenders in the Republican field for the Iowa Caucuses, and Mitt Romney comes in fourth. 

The Iowa Republican says next year the campaigns will be in full swing getting ready for the first caucuses in the 2012 race.  Sarah Palin is ranked first, followed by Mike Huckabee, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and then Romney.  Romney is thought to have the best infrastructure of any of the candidates from 2008, meaning he won’t have to start from scratch. 

Romney’s boisterous Iowa campaign eventually caused some of his opponents like John McCain and Rudy Giuliani to focus on other states rather than contend with Romney’s well oiled machine in Iowa.  With McCain and Giuliani absent from Iowa, Romney was left with a bunch of second tier candidates who all happened to be to the right of him politically.  That would not have been the case had John McCain remained a viable Iowa candidate through the entire process. 

The analysis says Iowa could be a potential stumbling block for Romney’s second bid for the Republican nomination.  His battle with Huckabee got nasty toward the end and has the potential to get that way again. 

Rounding out the top-10 is Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, John Thune, Mitch Daniels and Rick Perry.