ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum made a calculated decision a few weeks ago.
The cash-strapped candidate chose to skip ahead in the primary calendar to court conservative electorates in the three states that voted Tuesday — Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri — while GOP front-runner Mitt Romney and chief challenger Newt Gingrich battled each other in the expensive state of Florida.
Santorum’s gamble paid off. He won all three.
He broke a four-state losing streak Tuesday by aggressively courting conservative activists, pastors and tea party leaders to overcome Romney’s superior organization and fundraising — and challenge Gingrich for the title as the more conservative alternative to the former Massachusetts governor.
Santorum won bragging rights after placing first in Missouri’s nonbinding primary. He also won the caucuses in Minnesota. And then he won Colorado.
“Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota,” Santorum roared to cheers of “We pick Rick” from a crowd gathered here hours before Colorado gave him a third victory.
“I don’t stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney,” he added. “I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama.”
To some degree, Santorum’s wins were a vindication of his strategy to bypass traditional
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