Republican underdog Santorum wins Louisiana

Underdog Rick Santorum captured Louisiana Saturday in a largely symbolic victory that won't dent rival Mitt Romney's commanding lead in the race for the Republican presidential nod.

"Our campaign is making history," Santorum said in an e-mail to supporters moments after he was projected the winner of this southern US state by US media.

Written off early on in the campaign, Santorum has steadily notched up wins -- now 11 out of 34 contests -- largely with the help of evangelical Christians and the party's most conservative members.

"Not since Ronald Reagan in 1976 has a conservative candidate won as many states as we have," Santorum said.

"The reason why our campaign is winning in state after state is because people want an authentic, strong conservative leader to take on (President) Barack

Obama and not someone who just talks a good conservative game."

But Santorum's failure to win over more moderate voters -- and his focus on divisive culture war issues like abortion and birth control -- has called into question his ability to beat Obama in the November 6 election.

"We liked Santorum for a while, but lately he has gotten too radical," Betty Harper, 76, told AFP after casting a ballot for Romney at a New Orleans polling station.

Pressure is mounting from the Republican establishment to rally behind Romney, whose 21 wins include Florida, Ohio and Michigan -- all key battlegrounds in the general election.

Obama had an eight-point lead over Santorum in a hypothetical matchup that had him in a statistical tie with Romney, according to Rasmussen national survey.

But Santorum insists the only way to beat Obama is to pick a conservative candidate who can energize the party's base rather than tapping an "Obama-Lite" in the hopes of winning over moderates and independents.

And the party's conservative base isn't listening to the establishment anymore, said Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University.

"Since 2010 GOP incumbents and 'establishment' have been declared to be RINO's (Republican In Name Only) challenged in primaries, and generally excoriated by almost 2/3 of the Republicans voting or going to caucuses," Schmidt told AFP.

"Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, the 'conservative first', Obama hating, faith-based, and Rush Limbaugh (voters) are not on board with Mitt Romney, Romneycare, "Romney Waffles," and other powerful symbolisms."

Turnout has been low in the hotly contested, topsy-turvy Republican nominating race, but Romney has dismissed any concerns about an enthusiasm gap as he amasses an increasingly insurmountable lead.

Santorum has vowed to take the fight all the way to the Republican convention in August if Romney fails to win the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

Romney currently has an estimated 560 delegates, while Santorum has won 246, according to the website Real Clear Politics.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who has won two states, has 141 delegates, while Texas Representative Ron Paul, who has not won a single contest, has 66 thanks to the proportional distribution of delegates in some states.

Just 20 delegates were at stake in Louisiana Saturday and the race now shifts to more delegate-rich states where Romney has the advantage.

The former Massachusetts governor was ahead by 13 points in a Rasmussen survey of voters in the midwestern state of Wisconsin, which heads to the polls on April 3 along with Maryland and the US capital Washington -- where Santorum's shoe-string campaign failed to get on the ballot.

Santorum is expected to carry his home state of Pennsylvania in the following contest on April 24, but the victory will be overshadowed if Romney is able to sweep New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island, which also vote that day.

Santorum's campaign says it is looking ahead to May, when the southern states of North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas and Texas will vote.

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