Rick Santorum Proves Nice Guys Finish First in Middle America

The Republican race has a new frontrunner, with Rick Santorum sweeping the field in 3 states with 40% and more of the vote.

With Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich duking it out with negative ads and snarky comments, and Ron Paul calling everyone unconstitutional, Republican voters issued the ultimate rebuke by voting for the nice guy Rick Santorum.

That means Santorum has one half of the states that have voted too date:

Rick Santorum: Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri

Mitt Romney: New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada

Newt Gingrich: South Carolina

Ron Paul: None

In Missouri the rebuke was especially severe with Santorum winning every county and racking up 55% statewide with Newt Gingrich not even on the ballot. It may be all over but the shouting for Newt. He needs to prove he can win outside the South or his campaign has no place to go. The nail in the coffin would be if he loses his home state of Georgia on March 6.

The Romney campaign will have its own problems if Santorum keeps winning Midwestern states Mitt Romney had expected to win. Mitt faces the acid test in his birth state of Michigan on February 28. All bets are off if Romney loses Michigan to Santorum.

Actually, it appears that the effort of evangelicals to coalesce behind Rick Santorum is beginning to show results. That may not bode well for Rick in the voting in Maine which is ongoing or in retiree-heavy Arizona which votes alongside Michigan on February 28. But it could bode well for the Washington caucus on March 3. That could set Rick up for the big prize on Super Tuesday, March 6.