Santorum May Make Missouri History with Ballwin Visit Saturday

Editor's Note: This article was last updated at 12:18 p.m. Thursday with changes to Santorum's schedule.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is expected to visit Ballwin on Saturday, the day of St. Louis County's Republican caucuses.

Santorum is scheduled to appear in Chesterfield Township at 8 a.m. Saturday at Westminster Christian Academy at 800 Maryville Centre Drive, St. Louis. He then is expected to make a 9:15 a.m. appearance at Schnucks Wildwood Crossing Community Room at 16580 Manchester Road in Wildwood, followed by a stop at the , the site of the Lafayette Township Committee Caucus.

Santorum previously was around St. Louis in late January with a , and also was in the area the day of .

Chris Grahn-Howard, a Ballwin resident and Lafayette Township Committeeman who also blogs for Ballwin-Ellisville Patch, said he believes Saturday’s visits, however, may mark the first time in Missouri’s history that a presidential candidate has visited local party caucuses. Missouri's caucuses have not counted toward selecting a party's presidential nominating delegates since 1996.

“It’s the ultimate grass roots play,” Howard said. “I think that’s a huge thing.”

Santorum did win Missouri’s non-binding presidential primaries wth 55 percent of the vote, but the results that start being tabulated Saturday up through April 17 will be the real test of the Pennsylvania-native’s viability in the Show-Me State.

“Even though there was little voter turnout in the February primary, I think he’s staking his claim,” Howard said.

On Tuesday, Santorum claimed primary victories in Alabama and Mississippi, while the Republican candidate with the most support from Hawaii's caucus was Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, who that day.

Check back with Ballwin-Ellisville Patch soon for details on Saturday’s schedule.