Politics & Government

Caucus Votes in Apple Valley Reflect Minnesota Republicans' Preference for Santorum

Many caucus-goers still showed support for and gave their votes to one of the other three Republicans hoping to get the GOP presidential nomination.

Rick Santorum among Tuesday's caucus-goers in Minnesota, as well as in the two state districts that include Apple Valley.

That should have been fine with Apple Valley resident Jerry Norsby, who supported Santorum of the four remaining Republicans.

"I think he is more conservative than [Mitt] Romney," said Norsby, who was active in Republican politics for 40 years and estimated that he's attended 10 to 12 caucuses over the years.

Find out what's happening in Apple Valley-Rosemountwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But at for this year's District 37A Republican caucus—this is the first time District 37 split into two locations—Norsby said he would instead vote for Romney, because he views him as the most electable of the Republican pool.

"I'm a realist," he said.

Find out what's happening in Apple Valley-Rosemountwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Unlike this year, in 2008 Romney won Dakota County with 47 percent of votes, as well as the state, with 41 percent.

The last Republican presidential candidate to win Minnesota in the general election was Richard Nixon in 1972.

Norsby said many people he had talked to expressed more of a desire to have a Republican candidate defeat President Obama in the November election, rather than to have their favored candidate receive the party's nomination.

Ron and Clarice Sprengeler of Apple Valley were in that camp. The second-time caucus-goers came in intending to vote for different people in Tuesday's straw poll, but both wanted to see a Republican unseat Obama.

"We'll support whoever the ultimate candidate is," Ron Sprengeler said.

Brothers Avery Platter and Nathan Platter of Apple Valley, however, looked differently at the matter.

Nathan, 21, who said he favors Ron Paul, said he'd rather vote for someone with whom he agrees on many issues; he said he wanted his vote to stand for what he believed in.

"I'd rather decide the future than just accept it," he said.

Avery, 18, also a Paul supporter, said he's generally not inspired by politics, and said much of the younger generation seems "disillusioned" after seeing its failures.

He said he sees little difference between Gingrich, Romney and Obama when compared; Paul, however, has had a consistent platform for decades and seems trustworthy, Avery said.

"I'd rather have him than someone else," Avery said. "I want to do my part."

Results Recap

In the state of Minnesota, as of midmorning Wednesday, Santorum had beat the other three hopefuls with 44.84 percent of Minnesota Republican caucus votes, with almost 94 percent of locations reporting. Santorum had earned 21,513 votes so far.

Ron Paul followed with 27.19 percent, Mitt Romney with 16.91 percent and Newt Gingrich with 10.77 percent.

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. 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.

Public Policy Polling before the caucuses on Tuesday published that Santorum had the advantage among the four Republican candidates, at 33 percent, followed by Romney with 24, New Gingrich with 22 percent and Ron Paul with 20 percent.

There were 833 attendees at the District 37A and District 37B Republican caucuses on Tuesday.

The results from the presidential straw poll at the GOP caucus at Eastview High School for District 37A, which includes the western half of Apple Valley and part of Burnsville, were:

  • Santorum: 184 votes, 44.99 percent
  • Paul: 102 votes, 24.94 percent
  • Romney: 79 votes, 19.32 percent
  • Gingrich: 44 votes, 10.76 percent

The results from for District 37B, which includes Rosemount and the eastern half of Apple Valley, were:

  • Santorum: 190 votes, 44.81
  • Paul: 91 votes, 21.46
  • Romney: 80 votes, 18.87
  • Gingrich: 63 votes, 14.86

District 37 Democrats caucused Tuesday at Apple Valley High School. Final caucus straw polling results for all parties can be found on the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

Caucus night at Eastview—which also included electing delegates to the county convention and proposing resolutions on policy for the party to consider—started with a handful of short speeches from party members, including Rep. Tara Mack (R-District 37A), Apple Valley.

"The stakes are high this year," Mack told the crowd.

for a replay of events from GOP caucuses throughout the Twin Cities metro area.


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