The Missouri caucuses are today. Here are 10 things you need to know.
- Missouri caucuses finalize today: Missouri will hold most of their Republican caucuses today (some have already been held), which will help to determine how their 52 delegates are awarded, at county caucuses during the morning. The state already held a non-binding primary on Feb. 7, won by Rick Santorum, who seems poised to win the caucus vote as well, although there have been no public polls on today’s contest. But no true winner will be determined in Missouri today anyway, as the caucuses simply elect delegates to the state GOP convention who will then make the presidential choice.
- Puerto Rican caucuses Sunday: The Puerto Rican Republican caucuses are slated for Sunday, when 20 delegates will be doled out. Santorum and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have been fighting over the vote there, but Santorum may have turned off some voters when he said that Puerto Ricans should be required to speak English as a condition of statehood (which he later walked back) — island residents will be voting again on statehood in a non-binding referendum in November. Romney was quick to pounce, and said he’d require no such thing. Romney campaigned in Puerto Rico Friday.
- Resignation of Wisconsin state senator could tip the majority: State Sen. Pam Galloway (R), one of the Wisconsin GOP state senators targeted in the next round of recall elections resigned Friday, citing a family health reason. In the short term, that means the legislative body will be evenly divided, and a power-sharing agreement will have to be worked out. But that doesn’t mean it changes much — legislative business also concluded on Friday, so the resignation is unlikely to have an effect on policy. It does essentially make the recall election for the seat a special election, and the Democrats have a huge start — state Rep. Donna Seidel (D-Wausau), who represents a third of the Senate seat in the Wisconsin House, will now face an undetermined Republican on June 5, likely the same date as the recall election against Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI).
- Poll show Romney leading ahead of Illinois primary: Illinois Republicans will award the state’s 69 delegates in a primary Tuesday. Romney has a lead in two public polls released on Friday — one from a Chicago TV station showed Romney with a 6-point lead over Santorum, and one from Rasmussen showed Romney with a 9-point advantage.
- Romney web video tries to hook Missouri voters: A new web video from Romney’s campaign attempts to fight back against the perception that he can’t relate to everyday Americans. “He was very personable. He seemed to really listen to what you had to say and absorb it,” says one voter in the video, which shows Romney chatting with voters around a park picnic table in St. Louis. Watch it here.
- DNC hits Romney on China policy: The Democratic National Committee continues to hit back on Romney’s tough talk on economic policy involving China, which Romney says is necessary to correct the trade imbalance, but opponents charge could start a trade war. The web video goes after Romney over Bain Capital’s investments in China, detailed in a New York Times story. Watch it here.
- Obama opposed to N.C. gay marriage amendment: An Obama staffer in North Carolina said the president is opposed to an amendment to the North Carolina state Constitution Friday. “While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the president has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples,” said his North Carolina campaign spokesman Cameron French, the Raleigh News-Observer reported.
- Santorum reverses attack on Romney: Santorum has been criticized by Romney for being a “big-government conservative,” mostly based on the former senator’s support of earmarks for the state. Santorum may have noticed its effectiveness, because he tried to flip the script on Romney in Illinois Friday. “I believe in a light touch of government, where Gov. Romney believes in a very heavy touch,” Santorum said, according to the AP. “So he is an economic government heavyweight.”
- Santorum shuttles between Missouri and Illinois: Santorum will start out with events in St. Louis and Wildwood, Mo., on Saturday before holding rallies in Effingham, Mount Vernon and Herrin, Ill., the rest of the day.
- Romney campaigns in Illinois: Mitt Romney only has one public event on his schedule Saturday, a town hall meeting in Collinsville, Ill.
