Rick Santorum, who not so long ago was left for dead, or even worse not even given one thought as a presidential candidate, has once again come to life. After winning all three presidential contests on Tuesday, February 7, Rick Santorum has put himself clearly in the forefront of the Republican presidential nomination fight.
In the first day of the campaign which featured multiple states voting, Santorum swept the field picking up victories in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. In Missouri, which held a non-binding primary, Santorum won 55% of the vote. Mitt Romney was second with 25% of votes cast, while Ron Paul garnered 12% of the votes. Newt Gingrich was not on the ballot in Missouri. In Minnesota, Santorum received 45% of the votes cast. Ron Paul finished second with 27% of the vote. Mitt Romney ran third with 17%, while Newt Gingrich finished fourth with 11% support. In the final contest of the evening, Santorum won with 40% of the votes. Mitt Romney finished second with 35% of votes cast. Gingrich finished third with 13% and Ron Paul finished last with 12%.
Rick Santorum always maintained that if he became the final not-Mitt candidate that he could do very well against Mitt Romney. Republicans in Missouri have certainly proven the former Pennsylvania Senator to be correct in his assessment of the situation. Of course, Santorum also won the two contests where Newt Gingrich was also competing.
Newt Gingrich has repeatedly called for Rick Santorum to step aside and let him, Gingrich, face down Romney. In retrospect, one must observe that it is Mr. Gingrich that should step aside for Mr. Santorum and let the fight be between Santorum and Romney for the Republican nomination. Will Mr. Gingrich step aside? Who knows, he’s made some strange decisions before so such a sudden turn will be not without precedence. In any case, it is a long way to the 1,144 votes required to secure the nomination. Santorum, Romney, Gingrich and Ron Paul all have a very long way to go to reach that magic number. Now the campaigns move on to Michigan and Arizona. Let the fighting continue.