Republican Caucus: Rick Santorum to Hit the Hazelwood Area Saturday

After weeks of explanations and prognostications, caucus time is only days away for most Republicans in the St. Louis metro area.

In most years, caucuses are simply a mechanism to approve delegates of whoever prevailed in the Republican primary. But due to the Missouri legislature not moving the primary date, the Missouri Republican Party decided to utilize caucuses as the mechanism to allocate delegates.

A . And the Missouri Republican Party put information about the event on its website.

Hazelwood Caucus

Lewis & Clark Township will host its caucus at auditorium, 915 Utz Lane, in the . The caucus itself will begin at 10 a.m.

Township committeeman David Blanke announced Wednesday night via email that presidential hopeful Rick Santorum will be stopping by the Hazelwood area caucus. 

"I was given the official information last night.  Sen. Rick Santorum, Republican presidential candidate, will be coming to the Lewis & Clark Township Republican Caucus on Saturday morning at approximately 11:30 (a.m.) at the Prairie Commons Library auditorium, 915 Utz Lane, Hazelwood, MO.  Naturally he could arrive late or be forced to cancel without notice.  He will be stopping at Chesterfield, Wildhorse and Lafayette Township caucuses prior to L&C. I will be notified by phone if that were to take place."

Caucus Sites

St. Louis County is selecting delegates by township, so here's the complete list of locations based off the MRP's web site. 

• Airport: Pattonville Learning Center, 11097 St Charles Rock Rd., St. Ann, MO 63074
• Bonhomme: Kirkwood Community Center – Room 201, 111 South Geyer Rd., Kirkwood, MO 63122
• Chesterfield: Westminster Christian Academy, 800 Maryville Centre Dr., St. Louis, MO 63017
• Clayton: Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO  63117
• Concord: Office of Sen. Jim Lembke, 5714 Lindbergh Blvd., Green Park, MO 63123
• Creve Coeur: Spazio’s Cafe – Westport, 12103 Lackland Rd., St. Louis, MO 63146
• Ferguson: Ferguson City Hall, 110 Church St., Ferguson, MO 63135
• Florissant: Yacovelli’s Restaurant, 407 Dunn Rd., Florissant, MO 63031
• Gravois: Grantwood Village Town Hall, One Missionary Ridge, St. Louis, MO 63123
• Hadley: St. Louis Masonry Center, 1429 S. Big Bend, Richmond Heights, MO 63117
• Jefferson: Glendale City Hall, 424 North Sappington Rd., Glendale, MO 63122
• Lafayette: Ballwin Police Station, 300 Park Dr., Ballwin, MO 63011
• Lemay: Royale Orleans, 2801 Telegraph Rd., St. Louis, MO 63125
• Lewis & Clark: Prairie Commons Library auditorium, 915 Utz Lane, Hazelwood 63042
• Maryland Heights: Maryland Heights Community Center, Room #4, 2344 McKelvey Road, Maryland Heights, MO 63043
• Meramec: Oaks Landing Clubhouse, 1111 Newport Landing, Fenton, MO 63026
• Midland: Wild Acres Banquet Hall, Wild Acres Park, Building B, 2500 Ashby Rd, Overland, MO 63114
• Missouri River: The Lodge – Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd, Des Peres, MO 63131
• Normandy: Home of Mike and Maggie Jost, 2853 Moniteau Drive, St. Louis, MO 63121 
• Northwest: Bridgeton Trails Library Branch, 3455 McKelvey Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044
• Norwood: Corner Coffee House, 100 N. Florissant Rd., Ferguson, MO 63135
• Oakville: Oakville Elementary School, 2911 Yaeger Rd., St. Louis, MO 63129
• Queeny: The Manchester Police Facility, 200 Highlands Blvd., Manchester, MO 63011
• Spanish Lake: Jamestown Bluffs County Library, 4153 Lindbergh, Florissant, MO 63034
• St. Ferdinand: Bellefontaine Neighbors Recreation Center, 9669 Bellefontaine Rd., St. Louis, MO 63137
• Tesson Ferry: Concord Church, 13775 Tesson Ferry Rd., St. Louis, MO 63128 
• University City: Centennial Commons (Century Room), 7210 Olive Blvd., University City, MO 63130
• Wild Horse: Schnuck’s Wildwood Crossing (Community Room), 16580 Manchester Rd., Wildwood, MO 63040

As noted several times before, St. Charles County is having its caucus at St. Francis Howell North High School, which is located at 2549 Hackmann Rd. in St. Charles. Jefferson County is having its caucus at Hillsboro R-3 Intermediate School at 10478 Business 21 in Hillsboro.

By the way, Missouri Republican Party spokesman Jonathan Poutry sent out a missive to members of the media stating that the results of the caucus won’t likely be known right away.

“Unlike many other caucus states, there will not be a straw poll attached to the caucus. Caucus-goers will be voting for delegates, and with few exceptions, these delegates will not be bound to a particular candidate,” Poutry wrote. “Because there is no vote on candidate preference, neither the Missouri GOP nor any election authority will have or release any data regarding the ‘winner’ of the caucuses. Delegates selected at the county caucuses will elect and bind national delegates at the Congressional District Conventions on April 21 and the State Convention on June 2.”

Paul and Romney visit

Now that Missouri’s presidential contests actually count, candidates are starting to pay attention. was in Kirkwood earlier this week, while

Romney’s main rival, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), campaigned in Springfield last Saturday.

Small Changes 

As predicted last week, a bipartisan commission gave . That means that boundaries for state Senate districts are final, giving a bit of certainty to candidates seeking to serve in the Missouri General Assembly’s upper chambers.

“Today, the State Senate Reapportionment Commission filed finalized district maps with the Secretary of State’s office,” said Secretary of State Robin Carnahan in a statement Monday. “This action provides more clarity to state Senate candidates who were waiting to file or intended to file in one of the Senate districts created after the 2000 Census."

Carnahan said sll state Senate candidates have the option of withdrawing and re-filing in one of the districts the reapportionment commission approved.

“Any candidate who wishes to run for office in one of the finalized districts should make sure they come to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office and file by 5 p.m. on March 27,” she said.

As noted in an article in the St. Louis Beacon, commissioners made minor changes to the tentative proposal. In addition to minor changes to the boundary between the 13^th and 14^th Senate Districts, the biggest change was placing more of Clayton in to Sen. Joe Keaveny’s district.

In the tentative map, the entire city was placed in the 14^th District. Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D-University City) currently represents that district.

The Associated Press also reported this week that opponents of the map decided to drop a lawsuit aimed at resurrecting a prior plan that was declared unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Su-spence?

It’s March Madness, and that means it’s become trendy for politicians to predict who they will go far in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.

President Barack Obama, who is well-known to have a passion for basketball, released a bracket earlier this week that included the beloved Missouri Tigers in the Final Four. 

Also getting into the pick 'em spirit is Dave Spence, a Frontenac Republican running for governor. His campaign released a bracket that had Mizzou winning it all, and Saint Louis University making it to the Elite Eight.

By the way, intrepid politico Eli Yokley Tweeted a few days ago that Gov. Jay Nixon, who could be Spence’s opponent later this year, wouldn’t divulge his Final Four picks.