Striving to steal some of Mitt Romney's momentum for themselves, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are making high profile appearances in Minnesota Tuesday.
On the day of the caucuses, Santorum will be hopscotching around the country to stop in Tuesday-voting states. He started his morning in Missouri and will hold his election night party in Colorado, making a stop in between at Minnesota's National Sports Center in Blaine at 3 p.m.
Paul will be holding his election night party in Golden Valley in Minnesota and will be making personal appearances at caucus sites in Minnesota's north west suburbs during the evening.
Both candidates have reason to be hopeful in Minnesota.
Santorum, who has led the most recent public polls in Minnesota, has captured the support of Minnesota's social conservative Republicans and this week announced some high-profile legislative supporters. While Romney attracted the biggest names -- including former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and House Speaker Kurt Zellers -- Santorum announced a dozen legislative supporters -- including Sens. David Hann and Dave Thompson.
The former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator himself has spent three days in the state in the last two weeks, making him a more frequent visitor than all but Paul.
Paul, a 12-term U.S. Representative from Texas, has long had an organized campaign in the state and has turned out large, passionate crowds in recent Minnesota events. Over the last week, nearly 4,000 Minnesotans have turned up at his events and his backers have had caucus training in their sights for weeks.
If Paul manages to capture a first place win in Minnesota, it will be his first state win. Even though the Tuesday night vote is non-binding, that could give national observers pause as he continues on.
