City, State and Nation — February 7, 2012
Rick Santorum wins non-binding Missouri primary
The Missouri primary might be non-binding for Republican delegates, but Rick Santorum showed an enormous presence, pulling in more than 55 percent of the vote as of 10 p.m. and clinching the Missouri primary.
“Your votes today were heard loud across the country…and in Massachusetts,” Santorum said during his victory speech.
Santorum was the only Republican candidate to spend any time in Missouri. He specifically focused on the Show-Me state for the past week, holding campaign events across central Missouri, according to his campaign website.
Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich did not spend time campaigning in Missouri, according to their respective campaign websites. Gingrich, who expressed little interest in the state’s delegates, was not even on the ballot.
“We do elections where you can actually win delegates, we don’t participate in beauty contests,” a spokesman for Gingrich's campaign said.
As of 10 p.m., 87 percent of the total state precincts reported their results. Santorum commanded a dominating lead with 55.7 percent of the Republican vote in Missouri, compared with Mitt Romney’s 24.9 percent, according to election results posted on the Missouri Secretary of State's website. Candidate Ron Paul received 12 percent of the vote.
Tonight’s votes are largely symbolic, however, because they are non-binding. This means even though registered voters will pick their candidates of choice, the 52 state delegates up for grabs will not be “bound” by the votes, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
Senator Roy Blunt, R-Mo., applauded Santorum on his win.
"I congratulate my friend Rick Santorum on his win tonight, but the fact remains that this is a non-binding primary, meaning Missouri's delegates are still very much up for grabs,” Blunt said.
But Blunt said he thinks Mitt Romney will be the eventual GOP nominee.
“Mitt Romney has the organization and the resources to go the distance in this election, and I believe he'll ultimately win our party's nomination,” said Blunt.
The Missouri caucus will be held March 17, at which time the delegates will be chosen for the 2012 GOP convention, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
Changes demanded by the Republican National Committee requiring some states, including Missouri, to hold their primaries in March or later, caused the separation of voting and choosing delegates, according to the Missouri Republican Party’s website.
The party said failure to comply would have serious consequences, so Missouri decided to hold the primary today and the caucus in March.
“Failure to comply with these rules would have resulted in the loss of half of Missouri’s delegates at the national convention,” according to the Missouri Republican Party.
President Barack Obama led on the Democratic ticket, receiving more than 87 percent of the total votes cast, according to the Secretary of State's website.
Missouri Democratic Party chairman Mike Sanders released a statement after the polls closed which offered some insight on the primary.
“Today, Missouri Democrats came together in a show of strength and organization that truly stands in stark contrast to our Republican counterparts,” Sanders said.
Sanders said Obama’s strong showing is no surprise, but he disagrees with the process in which the GOP is choosing delegates.
“The Missouri Republican Party will continue to ignore the votes cast on primary day and instead, they'll let a handful of insiders gather in March to decide which presidential candidate they'll support at convention,” he said.
There is no guarantee Rick Santorum will be awarded the state’s 52 delegates. Missouri's delegates will officially be decided in March, when the Republican caucuses take place.
Santorum also won the Minnesota caucuses Tuesday by a similar margin, taking 45 percent of the total vote, compared with Ron Paul’s 27 percent. Mitt Romney received 17 percent of the vote, with Newt Gingrich taking the other 11 percent.
The results of the Colorado caucus are still indefinite, with Romney and Santorum tied at 37 percent.