The Pioneer Press sent reporters up to Blaine High School to cover our caucuses. Here's that story from yesterday. I also spoke to a reporter yesterday afternoon, and that story is here.
Voters in the Republican nonbinding "beauty contest" also had some surprises in store. National frontrunner John McCain got just one in five votes as voters handed Mitt Romney a statewide victory.
That's because Republican caucusgoers wanted a true conservative, said Andy Aplikowski, Republican chair of Senate District 51. "I think there's a lot of anti-McCain sentiment, a lot of mistrust with McCain," he said.
That sentiment was repeated in Republican caucuses throughout the metro area, where McCain's conservative credentials, or his stand on issues such as immigration, were frequently challenged. It served as a reminder that part of McCain's strength comes from independent voters rather than the Grand Old Party's base, which is considered more likely to attend caucuses.
Romney topped the list for many east metro Republicans. Christopher Burns, chairman of Senate District 56 in Washington County, said Romney has U.S. Sen. Michele Bachmann to thank for his showing there - his best in the metro area with 50 percent of the votes.
Bachmann, Burns said, "is very strong here, and Romney's conservatism really agreed with a lot of her supporters."
The results were more mixed in Dakota County, with McCain, Romney, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee all winning precincts in close caucus races. Romney had the best overall showing, but he never received even 65 percent of the vote in any given precinct.
Paul's showing also was a surprise. In St. Paul, he finished a close third to McCain, and he garnered more than 15 percent of the vote statewide. It was one of his better finishes in the country.
Aplikowski, who was anchored at Blaine High School the night of the caucuses, said he believed Paul received support from a disproportionate number of first-time voters - "from people we had never seen before and will probably never see again," he said.
My money quote that didn't make it into the paper was: "The problem for conservatives with John McCain is not that he works across the isle, it is that he walks across the isle, turns around, and starts throwing mud back at the conservative side. "
Oh well, I guess it doesn't read as good as it sounds in my head. McCain and this party are in trouble if they decide to get hitched.
