Santorum wins AL, MS in GOP fight for the South

[March 15, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rick Santorum has swept the GOP's fight for the South, winning Alabama and Mississippi.

With 71 percent of the vote counted in Alabama, Santorum had 35 percent, Newt Gingrich had 30 percent and Mitt Romney had 28 percent.

In Mississippi, with 90 percent of the vote counted, Santorum had 33 percent, Gingrich had 31 percent and Romney 30 percent.

Evangelical voters played an outsized role in both states.

[Associated Press; By LAURIE KELLMAN]

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