LAFAYETTE – Hundreds of Louisianans gathered in Lafayette on Tuesday to hear from presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, but they had to wait quite some time.
Santorum, who won the Alabama and Mississippi primaries Tuesday, stopped in Louisiana on his tour through the country and stepped up to the podium in a ballroom of the Lafayette Hilton more than two hours after his speech was scheduled to begin.
While waiting, audience members chanted “we want Rick,” sang patriotic songs like “America the Beautiful” and prayed for Santorum’s victory. But as time passed, the crowd became less friendly.
False alarms and assurances by campaign workers that Santorum would be out shortly brought on jeers, and many audience members left because they felt too much time had passed.
Erin Romero of New Iberia said she would have left the event if her husband hadn’t wanted to stay.
“I’ve been ready to go,” she said. “If you’re going to be late, at least send someone out to tell us why. It’s rude.”
Romero said she wouldn’t let her aggravation color her view of Santorum, but waiting for so long left a bitter taste in her mouth for much of the evening.
Others, like Nulvia Daigrepont from Pineville, said Santorum was worth the wait.
“I’d stay up until 2 a.m. to hear him,” she said. “I’d do anything to get a good president.”
When Santorum finally took the stage, he didn’t address his tardiness, but began describing his experiences during his campaign.
“This campaign is about ordinary folks doing extraordinary things,” he said. “Sort of like America.”
Santorum spoke about his desire to return the South to its former glory.
“We’re seeing gas prices that are projected to be historic highs because of the extremes of this administration,” he said. “We will put this town and this region back to work so that you can go back to work.”
Santorum said he expects a “huge win” at the Louisiana primary election next week, and his next stop will be Puerto Rico. “We are campaigning everywhere there are delegates because we are going to win this nomination,” he said.
Many at the event said they attended because they wanted to see a possible future nominee in person.
Lafayette resident Tom Angers, a Republican Party official in the area, said Santorum and the other presidential hopefuls are smart to stop in Louisiana.
“A campaign isn’t made on a national level,” he said. “It’s state by state and town by town. They’re doing it right.”
Angers said he’s followed each of the candidates in recent months and believes Santorum is a strong contender for the Republican nomination because of his roots.
“He comes from a blue-collar background,” Angers said. “He can really appeal to the average citizen.”
Garrett Fabacher, an education senior at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said he supports Mitt Romney but, like many others in the audience, wanted to attend the event to hear more of what Santorum had to say.
“I also wanted to be here to offer another point of view, if the opportunity comes up,” he said as he awaited Santorum’s arrival with the rest of the crowd.
Fabacher said he expected a larger crowd than the one that slowly formed around the podium Tuesday night because of the significant number of conservatives living in Lafayette.
“We’ve got a pretty big Tea Party here,” he said. “I wanted to see who would show up and what they would say.”
Fabacher said his experience at the rally was one he won’t soon forget.
“I’d go to an Obama rally if he came here,” he said. “Just to be a part of history.”
 
____ Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]