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    February 08, 2012

Santorum Stuns Romney, Wins 3 Republican Contests

   Richard Green
   Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick
   Santorum speaks during a primary night watch party Feb. 7, 2012, in St.
   Charles, Missouri.
   Photo: AP
   Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick
   Santorum speaks during a primary night watch party Feb. 7, 2012, in St.
   Charles, Missouri.

   The race for the U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination took
   another surprising turn on Tuesday. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum
   was the winner of three nominating contests in the states of Minnesota,
   Missouri and Colorado, providing a major boost to his campaign, and
   dealing another blow to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's
   status as the favorite to win the nomination.

   Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, won the Minnesota
   caucuses with 45 percent of the vote. U.S. Representative Ron Paul came
   in second with 27 percent, while ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
   finished a distant third with 17 percent.
   VOA election graphic
   In the Missouri primary, Santorum won 55 percent of the vote, while
   Romney came in second with 25 percent and Paul finished third with 12
   percent.
   In a victory speech in Missouri late Tuesday, Santorum declared
   "conservatism is alive and well" in Missouri and Minnesota.
   "Tonight was a victory for the voices of our party...conservatives and
   tea party people who are out there every single day and night in the
   vineyards building the conservative movement in this country...building
   the base of the Republican party...and building a voice for freedom in
   this land,'' he said.

   Santorum also declared himself the true "conservative alternative" to
   both Romney and Democratic President Barack Obama. He accused Obama of
   arrogance for failing to listen to the American people in their
   opposition to the bailouts for the financial sector and health care
   reform.
   And, Santorum pulled off an upset victory over Romney in the Colorado
   caucuses, winning more than 40 percent of the vote in a state Romney
   won by a large margin in the 2008 Republican nominating contest. In
   this year's Colorado contest, Romney finished second with 35 percent of
   the vote, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trailing far behind
   in third place.

   Santorum's triple victories dealt a blow to Romney's status as the
   favorite to win the Republican nomination. Romney congratulated
   Santorum during a rally in Denver before the Colorado results were
   announced, but told the crowd he still expected to become the nominee.
   "But we are going to take our message of liberty and prosperity to
   every corner of the country," Romney said. "And when this primary
   season is over we are going to stand united as a party behind our
   nominee to defeat Barack Obama and restore America to the values that
   made it the greatest nation in the history of the earth."
   The losses once again raises questions about Romney's ability to
   attract support among fervent social conservatives, who appear to be
   suspicious of his past support for a woman's right to seek an abortion
   and a health care system he implemented in Massachusetts. That lack of
   support led to Romney's big loss to Gingrich in last month's South
   Carolina primary contest.
   A new voter survey indicates Republican support for Romney has fallen
   nationwide during the past month, while another survey found he would
   lose the November general election to Obama.

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