Santorum Wins Shakopee Straw Poll at Caucuses Tuesday

Rick Santorum won the most votes for Republican presidential nominee in the GOP straw poll in Shakopee Tuesday night during the state caucuses.

Across 12 precincts in the city, Santorum received 125 votes, Ron Paul had 89, Mitt Romney had 52 and Newt Gingrich had 38. For GOP Senate District 35, which covers all of Shakopee, Prior Lake, Savage and a few townships, Santorum also won with 503 of 1238 votes. Paul took 314, Romney 256 and Gingrich 165.

Results took a few hours to tally which wasn't surprising considering the district's population. With 61,000 people, it's currently the most populous in the state, accrording to Rep. Mike Beard, R-Shakopee. He visited the caucus site and said he expected the current district boundaries to be changed by judges on Feb. 21 and predicted that the split would come between Shakopee and Prior Lake.

Turnout at the caucus site was up according to Eric Radtke, who said four years ago the group in the precinct 12 room had been much smaller. In fact, he didn’t have nearly enough ballots for the 40 people wanting to vote.

Before they voted, attendees discussed each candidate. It quickely became clear that many were still undecided and that as a group they were far from a consensus.

Radtke, for example, said he was voting for Mitt Romney and hoped everyone else would do the same.

“I think he stands to be our best chance to beat Barack Obama,” he said. “I don’t think he’s necessarily the most conservative person on the ballot but when we’ve got a radical agenda right now, I honestly feel like we do need someone to be a bridge builder.”

Ben Johnson said he thought it would be wonderful if someone could bring the political party back toward the middle but “it doesn’t win elections.” Out of what he called “an extremely weak Republican field,” he said he thinks Newt Gingrich is the only one who can beat President Obama.

Doug Davis said he was voting for Ron Paul because he said he believes Paul is the true conservative of the party.

Undecided when he arrived, Todd Bladow said people should remember that any of the four candidates "have got to be better than what we currently have." After listening to discussion, he said he had decided to vote for Gingrich, calling him the "strongest guy out there." 

Emily Radtke, who expressed support for Santorum, said he is the only candidate about whom she doesn’t have reservations.

“If he wins Minnesota, it would give him a boost,” she said.

While the majority of precinct 12 voters chose Paul, they were in the minority in Shakopee and Scott County.

And although 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 Romney, 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. Paul did better in major cities, nearly scraping out a win in Ramsey County, but even there, Santorum bested Paul.