Louisiana primary: A big win in a small race

BATON ROUGE – Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum took Louisiana by storm in Saturday’s primary, gaining nearly half of all votes cast. He easily beat former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who came in a distant second.

There was not a lot at stake: In all, just 20 delegates were set to be awarded in the primary, but a candidate had to clear 25 percent of the vote to receive any delegates at all.

Santorum, with 49 percent of the vote, will pick up at least nine delegates; Romney, with 26.7 percent, will receive five. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Texas Congressman Ron Paul trailed a distant third and fourth, and neither cleared the 25 percent hurdle; the remaining five delegates will go to the Republican National Convention as officially uncommitted.

Turnout was low: fewer than 25 percent of Louisiana’s Republicans went to the polls. The Democratic primary was also held on Saturday, but with President Barack Obama running uncontested, barely anyone showed up.

There was not the obvious politicking that has characterized other primaries; there were almost no campaign signs in evidence, and the airwaves were not saturated with ads. The candidates did crisscross the state with rallies and town hall meetings, but many events were poorly attended, and on Saturday it was difficult to find anyone who was planning to vote.

“It is one of our best-kept secrets that there is an election today,” laughed Anthony Emmons, a Louisiana businessman who served two terms in the state’s Republican committee. “They announced it at church, and everyone looked very surprised.”

In Baton Rouge, the state capital, not even the local police could point out a polling station.

“I think there’s one down the street somewhere,” said one officer presiding over City Plaza, which is situated on the waterfront. Baton Rouge is located on the Mississippi River.

The capital was hosting much larger events on Saturday: a major bowling exhibition and a Sesame Street concert. There were many balloons and posters with Big Bird and Elmo, but none for the presidential candidates.

According to Emmons, low voter interest is due to general disenchantment with the whole process.

“People are disgusted with the deficit, with the whole political system at this point,” he said.

Each of the candidates had his good and bad points, said Emmons, but none was a clear standout.

Romney, for example, is a bit too slippery.

“I don’t trust him,” he said. “He’ll say one thing today and do another thing tomorrow. “

Emmons likes Santorum’s social values, but acknowledges that his positions have turned many women away.

“Santorum is a Catholic, but even among Catholic women I meet a lot who say he is trying to set things back to pre-1965,” he said.

As for the others, well, they just don’t figure in the equation. Gingrich is brilliant but flawed; Paul too isolationist.

“People love Newt’s ideas, but they are not comfortable with his personal life,” said Emmons. “Ron Paul is a bit wacky. People like the idea of smaller government, but we cannot just run away from our responsibilities in the world. We did not ask to be an empire, but we are one.”

Louisiana is seen as a conservative state, and voted for Senator John McCain by a wide margin in 2008. It has many more registered Democrats than Republicans – 1.4 million to just over 750,000 – but is expected to vote Republican again in November.

“The number one issue is gas prices, and what President Barack Obama has done to strangle the oil industry,” said Emmons.

While the Santorum team will point to his convincing victory in Louisiana as evidence that he can outperform Romney in the general election in November, Saturday’s poll is not likely to change the trajectory of the contest. Romney has a commanding lead in delegates, and he is still seen as the presumptive nominee, even by Santorum supporters.

“It’s all a question of math and momentum,” said Emmons He voted for Santorum, he said, but recognizes that he will probably be supporting Romney in the fall.

The thought does not excite him, but he, like many Louisiana voters, has his priorities.

“At least Romney is qualified to be president,” he said. “Obama is far too extreme. He did not have the necessary experience.”