Unlike Iowa, No Question About Romney's Losses Elsewhere
Mitt Romney was declared the "winner," then not the winner in Iowa's caucuses. On Tuesday, though, Rick Santorum's showing in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado left no doubt about who won -- and who lost.
Just one month ago, Mitt Romney was declared the victor of the Iowa caucuses only to lose to Rick Santorum once all the available votes were counted.
Last night, Romney had no victories to point to, mistaken or otherwise.
Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, trounced Romney in Missouri and Minnesota, and beat him decisively in Colorado.
Santorum won Missouri and Minnesota by large margins, capturing 55 percent of the vote in Missouri to Romney's 25 percent, and winning Minnesota -- a state Romney won in the 2008 primary -- with with 45 percent of the vote.
Romney came in third there with only 17 percent of the vote, finishing behind Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who got 27 percent. Santorum won all 114 of Missouri's counties.
"Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota," Santorum crowed, at a rally in St. Charles, Mo. "Tonight was a victory for the voices of our party, conservatives and Tea Party people."
In Colorado, where Romney won the 2008 caucuses with 60 percent of the vote, the state Republican party called the race for Santorum a few minutes after 11 p.m., giving him a 40 percent to 35 percent win over Romney.
Beth Dalbey
9:34 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Grassroots, retail politicking works. Santorum is spending very little money.