Santorum Wins Richfield, Three States
Front-runner Mitt Romney is edged out by Rick Santorum in three states Tuesday night.
Rick Santorum ended GOP front-runner Mitt Romney's winning streak Tuesday night, sweeping Minnesota and Colorado caucuses as well as Missouri's nonbinding primary.
Locally, Santorum received 114 of the 221 votes cast in Richfield, while Ron Paul garnered 81, Romney 52 and Newt Gingrich 22. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin also received two write-in votes. State-wide, Santorum took 45 percent of the vote to 27 percent for Paul, 17 percent for Romney and 11 percent for Gingrich, with 88 percent of the total counted, according to a CNN article.
Early Tuesday the race seemed to be tightening as Public Policy Polling had recently reported Santorum with a small 2 percent edge over Romney, with all candidates in the running for a win.
While Romney, the Minnesota favorite in the 2008, seemed to be Santorum's biggest state-wide competition going into Tuesday night's events, local caucus chair, Craig Marston, thought Paul would get the nod in the Richfield and South Minneapolis area.
All of Minnesota Patch was out and about at local caucuses Tuesday night broadcasting live. Click here to see a replay of our live coverage.
As more numbers roll in, stay tuned for more post-caucus coverage from Richfield Patch.
Has Mitt Romney's reign at the top been compromised?
Tell us in the comments.
Mike McLean
7:19 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Maybe Kurt Zellers and Matt Dean are not really listening to their constituents.....
Kevin O'Donovan
11:03 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The myth that Santorum is unelectable was shattered Tuesday. Obama's attack on religious liberty possibly provided some impetus towards Santorum's victories. I watched Santorum on CNN,MSNBC,and FOX&Friends this morning. His demeanor and grasp of the issues gives confidence to his candidacy going forward. No candidate in either party is perfect, but Santorum offers a very good choice. I hope all voters will become reasonably well informed on the issues and the candidates, and that we exercise our Constitutional Responsibilities to Protect and Preserve by voting in the best interest of our republic, not just for 1% or 99%, but for 100%. I am grateful that we have the Richfield Patch, which does a very good job of honest reporting,reasonable commentary, and provides an open venue for discussion. It deserves our growing support. A well informed citizenry is a safeguard for freedom.
Caitlin Burgess
11:17 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Well thank you for the nice words Kevin. I appreciate it. Are you surprised by Santorum's sweep last night? With Romney having such a strong run leading up to this, and being the favorite in 2008, I was surprised.