Hat-trick by Santorum muddles race for GOP nominee

With his triumphs,Santorum was also suddenly presenting new competition to Newt Gingrich as the chief alternative to Romney,the frontrunner. Where Gingrich has won one state,South Carolina,Santorum has now won four,including Iowa.

His performance added another twist to an unruly nominating contest that has seen Republican voters veering among candidates and refusing to coalesce behind anyone. It came after Romney scored back-to-back victories in Florida and Nevada that had led to predictions that he was finally on a straight march to the nomination.

The results late Tuesday shook the political world,which appeared to once again make the mistake of believing the Republican race for the presidency was finally set on a stable trajectory.

The triple result amounted to a stinging denial of Romneys candidacy from three states where Republicanism is defined by the evangelicals and Tea Party adherents he has struggled to court this year.

His disappointing night notwithstanding,Romney goes into the next round of primaries and caucuses better financed than his opponents in what will be much more of a nationwide campaign,capped off by the 11 Super Tuesday competitions on March 6. But the enthusiasm in the race is no longer his alone; his frontrunners label appears to have lost its shine.

Santorums victory in Missouri was symbolic. The vote will not affect awarding of delegates. But his victory in Colorado was a genuine upset in a state that Romney easily carried in 2008.

I dont claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, Santorum said. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama.