Just when it looked as if Rick Santorum's campaign was losing steam, after suffering losses to Mitt Romney in the recent Puerto Rico and Illinois primaries, he enjoyed a hefty rebound in Louisiana. He trounced the competition and was announced as the projected winner with around 40 percent of the vote as soon as polls closed on Saturday night. Romney came in second, with Newt Gingrich finishing third.
The results didn't come as much of a surprise, since much of Santorum's strength has been in Southern states, and recent polls showed him with a double-digit lead over Romney. But while Saturday's victory carries him into April's races — including the District of Columbia, Maryland, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island — it will get considerably tougher for him to stay competitive because Romney is expected to sweep most of those primaries next month. And with Romney's still sizable delegate lead, barring something catastrophic, he remains the front-runner.
But nothing is settled yet, and Santorum vows to keep pressing on. Do you think he has a chance of edging past Romney's lead for the nomination?
Cynthia Gordy is The Root's Washington reporter.