Politics & Government
Santorum to Tour West St. Louis County on Saturday
On the tails of a primary victory in Alabama, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is scheduled to travel through St. Louis County this weekend.
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is expected in Ballwin on Saturday, the day of St. Louis County's Republican caucuses.
Santorum is scheuduled to visit St. Charles, Chesterfield and Wildwood, followed by a stop at the , the site of the Lafayette Township Committe Caucus. He also is expected to appear somewhere within the Lewis and Clark Township north of Hazelwood and in Alton, IL, though the exact details of Santorum's schedule were not available Wednesday night. A formal announcement is expected Thursday.
The Republican candidate's wife, Karen Santorum, is scheduled to appear at the Queeny Township, followed by the Des Peres Township and then the Tesson Ferry Township in South St. Louis County on Saturday. The two are expected to then meet up in Hazelwood sometime before noon.
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Santorum previously was around St. Louis in late January with a , and also was in the region during .
Chris Grahn-Howard, a Ballwin resident and Lafayette Township Committeeman who also blogs for Ballwin-Ellisville Patch, said he believes Saturday’s visits may mark the first time in Missouri’s history that a presidential candidate has visited local party caucuses. Missouri's caucuses have not counted toward selecting a party's presidential nominating delegates since 1996.
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“It’s the ultimate grass roots play,” Howard said. “I think that’s a huge thing.”
Santorum did win Missouri’s non-binding presidential primaries wth 55 percent of the vote, but the results that start being tabulated Saturday up through April 17 will be the real test of the Pennsylvania-native’s viability in the Show-Me State.
“Even though there was little voter turnout in the February primary, I think he’s staking his claim,” Howard said.
On Tuesday, Santorum claimed primary victories in Alabama and Mississippi, while the Republican candidate with the most support from Hawaii's caucus was Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, who that day.
Check back with Patch for details on the candidate's Saturday schedule.
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