Santorum Enjoys Beauty Contest Landslide, Provides Campaign With Much Needed Momentum

Rick Santorum claims Missouri Primary in St. Charles Tuesday night.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum seemed almost astonished with his powerful victory in the Missouri Caucus Tuesday night. With almost all precincts reporting Santorum lead Mitt Romney 55%-25%. Ron Paul had 12% of the Republican vote.
“Wow!”, he exclaimed as he started his victory speech.
“We doubled him up,here and in Minnesota”, he proclaimed.
Santorum also won the Minnesota republican caucus Tuesday night.
Santorum lapped Republican front-runner Mitt Romney most of the night in Missouri.
Santorum picked Missouri as a place to go head to head with Mitt Romney. Rival Newt Gingrich was not on the Missouri ballot. Ron Paul did not contest the state. Romney did not campaign here near the vote, but has the support of many elected Republican officials.
Santorum said he was looking for a place to win. He found it in Missouri.
He called it a victory for conservatives, “and the Tea Party people who are building the base of the Republican party.”
He told the crowd his win here did not mean he was the conservative alternative Romney.
“I stand here as the conservative alternative to Barack Obama”, he said to loud cheers.
The Romney campaign was braced for a tough night.
Romney supporter Missouri Senator Roy Blunt issued a statement saying Romney’s campaign has “the organization and resources to go the distance in this election.”
Earlier in the day, Romney’s political director, Rich Beeson advised reporters “there is no way for any nominee to win first place in every single contest.”
He also noted Missouri’s non binding primary “is purely a beauty contest”, with no delegates at stake. Th Republican National Committee (RNC) will not recognize Tuesday night’s results because Missouri’s primary was not in the order established by the RNC.
The Missouri delegates will be fought for during a St. Patrick’s Day Caucus on March 17. All the surviving campaigns will be in that contest.
Santorum won some key Republican counties that any Republican presidential candidiate needs to carry the state.
He won Greene County in southwest Missouri with 54% of the vote. Romney had 26%.
He won suburban Jackson County surrounding Kansas City with 50% to Romney’s 31%.
Santorum cruised in St. Louis County 53-30%. Many battles for the Missouri electoral votes are settled by what happens in St. Louis County.
On the Democratic side, incumbent President Barack Obama rolled up 88% of the vote. Obama narrowly lost Missouri to John McCain in 2008. He is considered a Show-Me State underdog in this election.