Rick Santorum did very well in the Iowa caucuses, finishing in a virtual tie with Mitt Romney for first place. Actually, in the final count, he edged Romney out by about 34 votes. However, Santorum did not manage to finish in the top two in any of the next three contests. Now he seems to have high hopes of performing well in the Nevada caucuses today and in the three contests coming up on Tuesday in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri. Many in the media seem to be cheering for him.
He will need to do well somewhere over the next four days, or his campaign will have difficultly going on. Things are not looking good for him in Nevada, as the latest polls are showing him in fourth place, behind Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul. He seems to have some anecdotal momentum in Colorado and Minnesota, but I have yet to see this reflected in any polls.
The one bright spot for him so far seems to be Missouri, which will be conducting what amounts to a “beauty contest” (a non-binding primary) on Tuesday. The latest polls show him leading there. He is apparently benefiting from the fact that Romney is not popular in the Show Me State, and Gingrich didn’t get on the primary ballot there.
Gingrich did get on the ballot for the caucus, which is set for March and will determine who gets Missouri’s convention delegates. Gingrich is currently leading in polls conducted specifically for that caucus. But even though Santorum wouldn’t get any delegates out of Tuesday’s primary, he would say a win is a win, and would be glad to get it. And it might be the only thing standing between him and the extinction of his campaign.
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