The Republican presidential contest is a two-man race no more.
Rick Santorum proved that the 2012 primary election still has a few surprises left, after he went three for three in Tuesday’s contests and once again shook up the GOP nomination battle.
Santorum, in perhaps the biggest upset of the night, was declared the winner of the Colorado caucuses — a contest Mitt Romney had been leading in recent polls and won in the 2008 race. The former Pennsylvania senator also won the Minnesota caucuses and the non-binding Missouri GOP primary.
The candidates head next into Maine, and later in the month to Arizona and Michigan. Santorum’s performance stokes questions about Romney’s appeal in some corners of the Republican Party but also puts the pressure on Newt Gingrich – as he challenges Santorum’s claim to be the “conservative” alternative to Romney.
