Santorum Wins in Inver Grove Heights and Across the State

Rick Santorum won the House District 39B Republican presidential straw poll at Tuesday evening’s caucus, which was held at and included Inver Grove Heights precincts 1-10.

“He’s the perfect blend of conservative, without being a little out there,” said Ted Trenzeluk, the convener for Inver Grove Heights Precinct 1. “He’s a little bit more mainstream conservative.”

Santorum received 132 of the 313 votes cast in District 39B, or 42.17 percent. Ron Paul followed, with 96 votes, or 30.67 percent. Romney received 54 votes, or 17.25 percent, Gingrich received 30, or 9.58 percent and other received 1, or .32 percent.

Santorum’s win in Inver Grove Heights mirrors straw poll results across the state.

Though counting still hadn’t been completed by Wednesday morning, it was clear that Santorum had built an unassailable lead throughout Minnesota.

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. Romney was far back in the counting throughout the state; in McLeod, Sibley and Sherburne counties, for instance, his percentage of votes was in the single digits.

But in Inver Grove Heights, Tuesday night wasn’t solely about the presidential straw poll.

“Al lot of people are only coming for the presidential poll. But there’s a lot of people that want to be involved deeper in the party,” said , chair of the House District 39B Republicans. “We just want tonight to be a night where people have a chance to talk about why they want to be involved in politics and what really matters to them.”

District 39B’s caucus was host to several displays of democratic spirit. As the precincts convened, attendees spoke on behalf of their preferred presidential candidates and spotlighted the issues they felt were most significant by proposing resolutions. The topics discussed included changing the gambling age, abolishing the Federal Reserve and separation of church and state, which sparked a heated debate in Precinct 1.

“It’s our civic duty to participate in the process,” said Tomas Settell, an Inver Grove Heights resident who attended Tuesday evening’s caucus. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”