Santorum's gamble pays off

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 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 he was running strong in Colorado.

"Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota," Santorum roared to cheers of "We pick Rick" from a crowd gathered here.

"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 advertising and instead lean on grassroots leaders, neighbor-to-neighbor efforts, and private meetings with conservative kingmakers in the trio of states that voted Tuesday — just as he did in Iowa, where he was declared the winner a few weeks ago.

Over the past two weeks, Santorum visited the three states' most conservative communities to draw swelling crowds. And the leaders of Santorum's successful Iowa campaign descended on Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri to court pastors and tea party leaders alike.

Among his many stops in the past two weeks was a visit to the Missouri factory that stitches his campaign's signature sweater vests.

Santorum badly trailed Romney's superior organization in each state.

But everywhere he went, he urged his smaller — though more enthusiastic — crowds to spread his tea party-leaning message.

"This is about the founders' freedom. This is a country that believes in God-given rights," he said at a victory celebration. "Ladies and gentlemen, freedom is at stake in this election."