Former Senator Rick Santorum won the Republican primaries on Tuesday in the key states of Alabama and Mississippi.
According to U.S. media, conservative Santorum was declared the winner after he won 35 percent of the vote in Alabama and 33 pecent in Mississippi.
"We did it again," Santorum said. "We'll compete everywhere."
The former House of Representatives Speaker, conservative and populist Newt Gingrich, came second in both states. He scored 30 percent and 31 pecent respectively, after previously winning the vote in neighboring Georgia and conservative South Carolina.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, still in the lead for the Republican nomination, had a disappointing result. He scored just 28 percent in Alabama and 30 percent in Mississippi. Analysts say his support in those states was weak as Evangelical Christians were reluctant to vote for him on account of his Mormon faith.
Congressman Ron Paul came in fourth with five percent in Alabama and four percent in Mississippi. He has repeatedly admitted that his campaign was not a realistic bid for victory, but as a platform for promoting his libertarian ideas.
The U.S. presidential election will be held November 6, 2012. The Republican candidate will face incumbent president Barack Obama, who faces increasing public discontent over rising fuel prices. A recent Washington Post ABC News poll found 46 percent approval for the president and 50 percent dissatisfied, but other polls have given him slighty better results.
