Posted on 02/07/2012 10:36:59 PM PST by Steelfish
Santorum Delivers a GOP Stunner Former Senator Wins in Minnesota, Missouri; Romney Campaign Plays Down Nonbinding Contests
By NEIL KING JR. And DANNY YADRON
DENVER—Rick Santorum jolted the Republican presidential race Tuesday by winning nominating contests in Missouri and Minnesota, puncturing Mitt Romney's claim to be the unstoppable front-runner.
Mr. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, was running neck and neck with Mr. Romney in preliminary returns from Colorado, a state Mr. Romney won by a wide margin in 2008.
With about 70% of the Colorado vote counted, Mr. Santorum had 38%, to 36% for Mr. Romney. Four years ago, Mr. Romney carried Colorado with 60% of the vote.
Mr. Santorum's twin victories in the Midwest will give his campaign a much-needed burst of momentum and may stir doubt about Mr. Romney's abilities to woo conservatives to his side in important electoral states such as Missouri. So far, Mr. Romney has won in states where he has devoted significant campaign time and advertising dollars.
Mr. Santorum won 55% of the Missouri vote, while Mr. Romney followed with 25%. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was trailing with 12%. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wasn't on the Missouri ballot.
Mr. Santorum's Missouri victory margin of almost 75,000 votes over Mr. Romney was nearly 29,000 more than Mr. Romney's combined Iowa and Nevada total.
While the Tuesday results didn't directly award any of the delegates needed to claim the GOP nomination, they showed voters rejecting Mr. Romney even in states where he had performed well four years ago.
Mr. Romney had carried Minnesota in 2008 but placed third there on Tuesday. With 85% of precincts in, Mr. Santorum had 45% of the vote, while Mr. Paul had 27%. Mr. Romney had 17% of the vote and Mr. Gingrich claimed 11%.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Not in VA—Only Mittens and RP are on the VA ballot.
Unless things have changed.
And Newt will be there in MO for the vote that counts.
But this thread is for Rick, and hats off to him.
Anybody but Romney.
thanks for correcting me. I missed that. My bad.
hopefully the pipeline deal snafu along with this attack on the catholic church will encourage pennsylvanians to forgive the Toomey/Specter problem.
I heard one radio commentator - maybe it was Rush? - explain that the RNC expects support to be thrown to the incumbent, and they put an “or else” condition on that as it relates to future funding for campaigns.
Maybe that was part of Rick’s thinking when he made that major boo boo.
Forgive me, if the GOP has a brokered convention, what’s to prevent the RINO elite from just picking Romney as the nominee?
LOL. I obviously missed the last Ras poll. However, polls this far out from the election are meaningless even when currently accurate as many have pointed out, with special emphasis on Carter being certain to crush Reagan according to polls until just before the election.
This MIGHT be one of Ras’s outliers—we’ll have to see. obama’s numbers on the Ras polls do go up and down as 0 does something to surprise and please Americans or something to please his radical base. Either of those gets the approval number higher FOR A WHILE.
Just heard on FAUX NEWS Rick’s statement that he is going to “call out” the administration on it’s jihad against Catholicism and Christianity. If Rick will stay on that horse, he can ride it all the way to the White House.
If Santorum could put Paul Ryan in an important role - that would go a long way in securing his economic credentials.
Santorum has made a few mistakes in 20 years. There will be no amnesty for any illegal alien ever!! but at least we don’r have to Vote(won’t vote) for that checkered pants country club millionaire with off shore bank accounts, who wrote obama care. Did you know that illegals in taxachusetts get FREE MEDICALINSURANCE? You can’t make up what a Rockefeller liberal this jack ass is. Im Switching to Santorum.
Santorum has made a few mistakes in 20 years. There will be no amnesty for any illegal alien ever!! but at least we don’r have to Vote(won’t vote) for that checkered pants country club millionaire with off shore bank accounts, who wrote obama care. Did you know that illegals in taxachusetts get FREE MEDICALINSURANCE? You can’t make up what a Rockefeller liberal this jack ass is. Im Switching to Santorum.
I wouldn’t expect the rate of Mormons to be that much different anywhere along the border. Obviously, bigger cities will have more, but cross-state moves are common in every state in the union. I don’t see why Colorado would be any different.
In any case, Santorum won big despite any of the natural alliances that would have gone toward Romney.
Moreover, Colorado is a bell-weather state. In any electoral map that gives the northeast and the west coast to Obama, which is only being realistic, our candidate MUST be able to pull leaners like Colorado and Ohio into the red column.
This poor showing by Mitt says there simply is no excitement about him anyplace.
I agree. I’m thrilled that any conservative could put a huge dent in the Romney momentum and everyone on this thread should be also.
I don’t understand the sturm and drang and angst. Okay, it’s not Newt, but what would a Romney victory in those states have done to our efforts to get a conservative in?
And... someone dourly posted above that the media would now pounce on the front runner.
News for you ... they won’t have to, you’ll see it right here on Free Republic.
I won’t be part of it. I prefer Newt but I can vote for Santorum with a happier heart than I could vote for Romney.
And I will vote Republican. Because anything else is a vote for Obama and I don’t want to see any pathetic whining about how Romney would be worse. HE WOULD NOT.
He wouldn’t be good, but Obama is evil and hates America and everything we love.
If not Newt, then I’m glad Rick was the big winner. I’m sure Ann Coulter will be doing some overtime work on the talk shows.
Newt needs to get out of this race and go do something he’s good at like write another book. He’s poison to many woman voters.
***
Eh, wasn’t poison to women in SC. ANd we’ll just see what the women in GA and TX, TN have to say.
Yes, we will.
Oh, c’mon. Get your mind off Newt and enjoy a conservative victory.
What’s Obama’s ACU rating ??
Liking Newt is fine. I do as well. But tearing down a conservative hope because he’s not your guy is self-destructive.
And those statistics you reported were too close to matter.
Finally. The REAL Family Values candidate!
Santorum can’t win? MITT OBAMNEY can’t win! Santorum has a better chance, and at least we keep our conservative principles!
Mr. Santorum won 55% of the Missouri vote, while Mr. Romney followed with 25%. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was trailing with 12%. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wasn’t on the Missouri ballot.
Great news. This shows what happens to Romney when the conservative vote consolidates behind ONE candidate.
And the worst part, grossly under-reported by the MSM, is that Catholics are required to provide birth control and abortions, while muslims are not!
Don’t be too quick to dismiss Newt. We’ve yet to see how he’ll do on Super Tuesday and only a week ago people were calling for Santorum to drop out ‘for the sake of the Cause.’
How soon we forget. I was always against asking someone to drop out... they did that to Perry. I wish Perry had stayed in also.
Things keep changing in this primary.
Obama does something to tick off the religious right. They turn to Santorum.
Who knows what will happen next.
We won’t know till we know.
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