The general consensus surrounding the Missouri caucuses Saturday is summed with the words confusion and passion, according to multiple reports.
Thousands of Missouri residents packed town halls, schools and churches Saturday in more than 100 counties as the GOP caucuses took place beginning at 10 a.m., according to the Missouri GOP.
The St. Charles County caucus got off to a late start and then faced further delays when a participant refused to quit video recording, followed by two Ron Paul supporters refusing to leave, which led to their arrest, according to The New York Times.
“Two people were arrested for trespassing after receiving numerous warnings to leave the school property,” St. Peters police said in a news release. “Both subjects were transported to St. Peters Justice Center where they were booked for trespassing and released on a summons.”
Not every caucus had that level of excitement, and in Boone County there seemed to be slightly less frustration, with many people voting for whom they want to lead the country, according to the Missouri GOP.
With no clear winner, the next stop will be the congressional district caucuses on April 21. At this point, the delegates chosen at the caucuses Saturday aren’t bound to any candidate, so the next caucuses are critical, according to the Missouri elections website.
In April, three delegates from each district caucus will be chosen and bound to the winning candidate and will then represent that candidate at the state convention on June 1 and 2.
This process is much different than a primary election, where the winning candidate captures the delegates and moves to the next state in the lineup.
“A primary is like any election you have participated in where you go to a designated polling place within a certain timeframe and cast a secret ballot,” according to the Missouri GOP website. “The atmosphere is very quiet and respectful.”
In a caucus event, citizens come together and the process is more dynamic and open. During a caucus, voters all discuss and vote for delegates that will represent the state at the Republican National Convention, according to the National GOP.
“A caucus is an event where registered voters gather together at the same time and vote for delegates who will represent them at the national convention,” according to the Missouri GOP website. “The atmosphere is very loud and energetic.”
In most state caucuses, delegates are chosen immediately and the results are announced a short time after votes are tallied. Election officials take a straw poll and determine the winner of each individual caucus, which allows the public to know the overall state winner.
In the Missouri caucuses, there were no straw polls, so there will be no actual way to determine who wins or the order of the candidates until at least April 21.
Voters took to the polls in a non-binding primary back on Feb. 7, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum defeated his opponents with more than 55 percent of the votes, according to the Missouri elections website.
Behind Santorum was Mitt Romney who grabbed 25 percent of the vote, leaving Ron Paul with 12 percent, according to the Missouri elections website.
Newt Gingrich did not participate in the primary, as he did not meet the state requirements to be included in the election, according to the Missouri state website.
The votes in February did not count toward any progress in the presidential race, as delegates are not awarded until the conclusion of caucuses, which will last until June 1 and 2, according to the Missouri elections website.
Delegates chosen at the Boone County caucus will participate in the district caucuses at the Chillicothe High School on April 21, according to the elections website. The district caucuses will begin at 10 a.m.
