Might Rick Santorums campaign get another big boost on Saturday, this time from Missouri, where he won the nonbinding primary vote last month?  Mr. Santorum might do well in the Show Me States caucuses, which start Saturday. And so might Mitt Romney or Ron Paul or Newt Gingrich. Problem is, were not going to know much of anything for weeks, even months.  To clear up any confusionof which there is muchthe Missouri GOP put out a memo late Wednesday warning reporters to expect very little from the caucus process.  Unlike many other caucus states, there will not be a straw poll attached to the caucus, the memo said. Caucus-goers will be voting for delegates, and with few exceptions, these delegates will not be bound to a particular candidate. Because there is no vote on candidate preference, neither the Missouri GOP nor any election authority will have or release any data regarding the winner of the caucuses. The state party also spells it out on its website.  The nonbinding Feb. 7 vote was called a beauty contest, after all. In that vote, Mr. Santorum scored a big win over Mr. Romney, taking the state with 52%. Mr. Romney was a distant second, with 23%, followed by Mr. Paul at 12%. Mr. Gingrich was not on the ballot. The February primary essentially served as a straw poll, as the results had no affect on delegate allotment.  Missouris eventual haul of 52 delegates will be the fourth largest of the month.  What starts Saturday is part of a laborious process that will extend into June. The delegates selected Saturday will then elect national delegates at the Congressional District Conventions on April 21 and at the State Convention on June 2.  While Mr. Santorums success in February might predict similar results on Saturday, the structure of the Missouri Caucus prevents it from having any real impact on the race until late April, at the earliest.
The Missouri Republican Party laid out procedures for Saturday's caucuses, and explained why it will take some time to see the results.