Minnesota Caucuses: Santorum Wins

Linda Roehl reminded Room 306 at Eden Prairie High School that she is over 35 and wouldn’t mind a presidential write-in vote.

But instead of a victory for Roehl, Rick Santorum won over Minnetonka precinct 4E. 

“That’s my favorite joke,” Roehl said.

Precinct 4E favored Santorum, with 23 votes; Ron Paul, 11; Mitt Romney, 5; Newt Gingrich, 4 and one write-in for Herman Cain. Rebublicans in Senate District 42, which consists of southern Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, decided on Santorum with 39.8 percent of the vote. Romney was next with 27 percent. A total of 984 Republicans voted in Senate District 42's straw poll.

Before the vote, Steve Zelinski, a CPA busy at this time of year telling people what they have to pay in taxes, is looking for someone socially and fiscally responsible. He thinks that person is Santorum.

"He’s an underdog," Zelinski told the precinct. "We can make a statement here."

Though counting still hadn’t been completed by Wednesday morning, it was clear that Santorum had built an unassailable lead throughout Minnesota, echoing the vote tally of precinct 4E.

With 93.43 percent of the ballots counted, Rick Santorum had 21,495 votes, or 44.84 percent. That was about the same percentage of the vote he’d maintained throughout the ballot counting Tuesday night. Ron Paul came in a strong second, with 13,039 votes, or 27.20 percent.

Mitt Romey, the presumed front-runner going into the night, got only 8,108 votes, less than 17 percent. And Newt Gingrich, who won in South Carolina last month, got 5,157 votes, or 10.76 percent. There were 140 votes for write-in candidates.

Santorum’s win wasn’t just impressive for its margin, but for its ubiquity across the state. With counting complete in all but four counties, Ron Paul won just four, in scattered rural areas across the state, and tied with Santorum in Lincoln County, on the South Dakota border. Paul did better in major cities, nearly scraping out a win in Ramsey County, but even there, Santorum bested Paul.

After the straw poll, Minnetonka precinct 4E voted in 11 party delegates and three alternates, after discussing their ideas for resolutions and party platform revisions. David Asp, the caucus chair for the evening, proposed a resolution to commend for his good work. Everyone agreed.

"He's a workhorse, and I appreciate that," Asp said.

Out of 34,252 voters in Minnetonka, 17,347 are represented by District 43B (51 percent), 12,719 voters in District 42A (37 percent) and 4,186 voters in District 33B (12 percent).

District 43B consists of northern Minnetonka and southern Plymouth, District 42A consists of southern Minnetonka and Eden Prairie and District 33B consists of western Minnetonka and Lake Minnetonka communities. However, district lines are being re-drawn and this may change soon.