NEW ULM - Brown County Republicans of Minnesota President Jim Hahn and the local party's former president Gerald Woodley reacted Wednesday to the results of the Minnesota caucuses.
The final results of Tuesday's straw pool showed that Rick Santorum pulled an upset victory by capturing nearly 45 percent of the votes. Ron Paul came in second with 27 percent of the votes, which exceeded the combined total of Mitt Romney's 16 percent and Newt Gingrich's 10 percent.
Hahn and Woodley said they felt Santorum and Paul fared well because they actually spent time visiting the state.
"I know from my own experience that actually talking in person with people makes a difference. Voters want to feel that they're involved and that they matter to the process,"?said Woodley.
They also agreed that Santorum's campaign plucked a much stronger cord with the state's social conservatives than the other candidates, especially Romney. However, they both felt Santorum's very outspoken pro-life stance was only a limited factor in his results, despite the prominence of the issue in Republican politics in southern Minnesota.
"What's interesting about [Santorum's] victory is how broad it is. Even in a socially moderate state, Santorum had good showings,"?said Hahn.
Regarding Paul, they agreed his numbers were produced by his well-known core of strong supporters. Woodley said Paul's supporters are often more motivated and active than average caucus-goers, which allows them to consistently present a decent presence at state caucuses.
Regarding Gingrich's poor showing, Woodley and Hahn said they felt it was an expression of a national trend against Gingrich and Romney. Hahn said he felt the deluge of negative ads from Gingrich and Romney turned off undecided Republicans.
"The feeling of a lot of Republicans is we need to beat Obama. They don't like ads, and they don't want to give Obama extra ammunition in the race," said Hahn.
Regarding Romney, Hahn said he felt Santorum, at the moment, better fit the "true conservative" alternative that Republicans voters had been searching for. He said that people's lukewarm feelings towards Romney caused Republicans to search for somebody that more accurately fit their views. However, he said he doubts whether Santorum's popularity would last long-term.
Woodley, on the other hand, said he felt Romney's transition from winning Minnesota in 2008 to a distant third this year was propelled by a different group of voters. He noted that even at the Brown County caucus, he noticed the absence of many regular caucus-goers, but many new Republicans attended. He said the wave of newer Republicans, which led the 2010 Republican wave, had a significant problem with candidates they perceive as establishment.
"In 2008, Romney was the anti-establishment, more conservative alternative to McCain. In 2012, he's establishment compared to Santorum," said Woodley.
Hahn concurred that Romney appearance as an establishment candidate was a challenge for him.
Non-binding Caucuses
Minnesota's caucuses are non-binding, which means the result of straw polls does not dictate how votes are made at the national convention. Some have complained that this limits presidential candidates' commitment to Minnesota and reduces turnout.
Hahn said he has no problem with the current system. He said he felt it kept the grassroots movement strong and prevented big money interests from having an impact on the proceedings.
Woodley said he also preferred the current system, but he saw value in either method. He said that the non-binding vote drove down attendance and tended to make straw polls less predictable, due to only the most motivated group dominating regardless of size. He thought that it would also make presidential candidates spend more time and energy in the state.
However, he said the non-binding system allowed for more possibilities to interact with the process. He said it also prevented the party from being forced to vote based on a small but dedicated group conquering just the smaller caucuses.
(Josh Moniz can be e-mailed at jmoniz@nujournal.com)