Republican nomination candidate expects 'two-man race' with frontrunner following string of surprise wins
Rick Santorum has shrugged off Mitt Romney's victories in the Maine caucuses and the straw poll of conservative activists that preceded it, describing the Republican nomination race's frontrunner as "desperate."
Santorum said he could do "exceptionally well" in Michigan, where Romney grew up and where his father served as governor and expects to be in a "two-man race" with him.
The next contests take place in Michigan and Arizona on 28 February.
"We're going to spend a lot of time in Michigan and Arizona, and those are up next. And that's where we've really been focusing on," Santorum told ABC's This Week on Sunday.
Buoyed by his surprise wins in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri last week, Santorum hit back at Romney's statements that both he and Newt Gingrich were "Republicans who acted like Democrats."
"For him to suggest that I'm not the conservative in this race – you know … you reach a point where desperate people do desperate things," Santorum said.
"That's pretty funny for Mitt Romney saying I'm acting like a Democrat."
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, said he is the latest candidate to challenge Romney as frontrunner and that his rival is struggling with how to go after a "solid conservative" who has a track record of winning support from independents and Democrats.
"Governor Romney, when he ran his race, [he] ran as a moderate in Massachusetts. And that's fine. It's a tough state. And, you know, the people have to do what they have to do to win. Well, I stood up and was for what I was for, and I won four races, I lost one. That's pretty good."
In Colorado last week, Romney told his supporters: "Senator Santorum and Speaker Gingrich, they are the very Republicans who acted like Democrats, and when Republicans act like Democrats they lose. In Newt Gingrich's case, he had to resign. In Rick Santorum's case, he lost by the biggest margin of any Senate incumbent since 1980."
Santorum dismissed his own third-place finish on Saturday in the caucuses in Maine, where he didn't actively compete, as well as coming second in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll.
"That was not a place we were going to compete," Santorum said.
In an interview on CNN's State of the Union programme he hinted but stopped short of accusing Romney of rigging the poll. He suggested it was "standard procedure" at straw polls for candidates to buy tickets for their supporters, who are bused in to vote.
"We didn't do that. We don't do that," Santorum said. "I don't try to rig straw polls."
But when asked directly by CNN's Candy Crowley if Romney rigged the CPAC poll, Santorum said: "You have to talk to the Romney campaign about how many tickets they bought, we've heard all sorts of things."
Santorum also said he plans to release his tax returns within the next couple of days, possibly as early as Monday.
With two weeks to go before the next primaries, the GOP presidential hopefuls will focus on organisations and their donors.
Santorum's campaign reported a huge surge in donations, gathering $3m (£1.9m) in the three days immediately followinglast week's wins. He reported $279,000 in the bank at the end of December, compared with Romney's $19.9m. Gingrich had $2.1m, but is still carrying substantial debt, while Paul reported $1.9m.
Romney won 11 delegates and Paul 10, according to an analysis of the Maine results by Associated Press. Santorum and Gingrich were shut out. That brings the delegate count to 123 for Romney, 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul, with 1,144 delegates needed for the nomination.
The former Massachusetts governor, who already has a massive financial advantage over his rivals, left Maine before the low-turnout caucus results were announced to attend a west coast fundraiser on Saturday night.
Issuing a statement to mark his victory, Romney said: "I'm heartened to have the support of so many good people in this great state. The voters of Maine have sent a clear message that it is past time to send an outsider to the White House."
Romney captured 39% of the vote, narrowly defeating Paul's 36%. Santorum and Gingrich, neither of whom actively campaigned in Maine, won 18% and 6% respectively.
His victory – he did better in Maine in 2008 when he won 51% of the vote- did little to see off questions among Republicans about his endurance.
Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, said Romney has work to do to convince GOP voters he's moved beyond his "pretty moderate past … even in some cases a liberal past."
"I am not convinced, and I do not think the majority of GOP and independent voters are convinced," Palin said on Fox News on Sunday.