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With there being three different votes on one day, I’ve decided to post the results separately from the commentary. If you wish to view the results, click the appropriate link(s) below:

- 2012 Colorado results
- 2012 Minnesota results
- 2012 Missouri results

Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri have brought us our first “mini-Tuesday.” On one day, we were able to compare and contrast how three different voting populations viewed the same candidates without any new news to slant their perceptions. Additionally, with there being multiple states, the different campaigns couldn’t target all of their resources into a single market, forcing them to decide which state was more advantageous toward their ultimate goal of winning the party nomination.

Notes on the results:

Rick Santorum: Surprisingly for many, Rick Santorum came out on top in all three states. He won Missouri with over 55% of the votes, Minnesota with almost 45%, and Colorado with 40%. Some of this had to do with the fact that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich were not heavily vested in those three states, and as a result, there was little advertising. Another factor was the lack of any debates before the vote, failing to give an unbalanced attention to one or two candidates.

Ron Paul: I think the larger surprise was how poorly Paul did in the caucus states. This is a format that favors Paul more than anyone else, and he ended up with a silver in Minnesota (the state with the lowest turnout of the three contests). He finished third in Missouri (without Newt Gingrich on the ballot), and fourth in Colorado. He’s placed a lot of emphasis on Maine during his concession speech, so a poor showing there might lead to further loss of support in upcoming races.

Mitt Romney: Always the presumptive nominee, Romney took the three losses in stride when he addressed his supporters, but the campaign has to be dissecting the exit polls to see why he did so poorly in Missouri. Santorum had more than twice the number of votes that Romney received. I’m sure he thought he was going to perform better (but not win) in those states, which is why he didn’t put a lot of resources into those contests, but losing by such a large margin might cause his backers to doubt their support.

Newt Gingrich: Can Newt channel the energy of the Phoenix and rise from the ashes a third time? Not only did Newt do poorly in Colorado and Minnesota, he failed to make the ballot in Missouri. His lack-luster showing on Tuesday has even caused his key Super PAC supporter to hold off on donating more money to aid his run for office. If Santorum wins another state before Newt does, I have to guess that Newt’s campaign advisers inform him that he doesn’t have a strong path towards victory this year.

Reactions:

Chicago Argus: I WONDER IF Missouri could be the place that could finally give him that 50 percent-plus vote that he so desperately needs to get in a state. For as long as all of his opponents gather more votes combined than he does, it doesn’t matter how Mitt spins it.

The truth will be a political party whose hard-core wants Anybody But Mitt to run for president – no matter how laughable any of those “anybodys” would appear to be in a head-to-head campaign against Obama.

I often hear that an uncertain primary in the first few states bodes well for the party in the end. With no dominant candidate, the voters are allowed to further explore the various positions each candidate brings to the table while drowning out the competing party’s message. On the other hand, flooding the general public with your dirty laundry might taint the voters opinions and/or keep them from showing up on election day. At what point do the party leadership start weighing in on the race and place their support behind one of the four leading candidates so they can turn the message away from the inter-party issues and direct them against their competition?

Pamibe: This is extremely good news for conservatives. But should Newt step aside at this point? I say yes. I like Newt, but he’s not for everyone. My only qualm about Santorum is somewhat petty and would never affect my vote in the general: Rick’s voice is like a sleeping pill for me. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to hear what someone’s saying if you’re asleep.

If Newt were to drop out (and assuming Paul’s presence doesn’t impact the vote), how would a head-to-head race between Romney and Santorum look like? Would it truly turn into an anti-Romney election, with Santorum winning more states and clinching the nomination? Or does the distraction of the “Who will be the anti-Romney candidate this week” discussion give way and Romney steps up to silence the critics? I believe that if Santorum can pick up some key financial backers, he could give Romney a “run for his money” into Super Tuesday. He needs the money in order to put resources into those 10 states. Romney already has a ground game in those states as a result of his 2008 campaign. Failing to get the money and resources, Romney is in position to be closer to locking up the nomination.

Liberal Values: Despite this, Santorum has an outside chance at the Republican nomination because of the degree of dislike for Romney by conservative Republicans and the lack of a viable alternative. Compared to Newt Gingrich, Santorum looks like an acceptable choice to GOP leaders. (Ron Paul remains irrelevant towards the actual nomination even though he will probably pick up a number of delegates, especially in the caucus states). I’m not all surprised that Santorum is emerging as the non-Romney candidate outside of the south. He is the best shot for the big-government conservative movement which remains obsessed with imposing their archaic religious views upon the entire country.

Can Santorum compete against President Obama? While “President Obama” has lacked the charisma “Candidate Obama” had, it is safe to assume Obama will be back to his campaigning form once the Summer comes around. Santorum has the “nice kid” feel about him, but that persona will be eclipsed in the general election. And if he can’t get out of Obama’s charismatic shadow, I don’t see how Santorum can compete, even if the voters agree with him on the issues.