Rick Santorum was expected to have a good day in the primary, but few could have predicted that he would sweep Tuesday's presidential nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. That's exactly what he did, however, as CNN has projected that Santorum won all three races.

Santorum took Colorado with 38 percent, followed by Romney at 36 percent, according to CNN.  Gingrich secured 13 percent and Paul pulled in 12 percent, with 95 percent reporting.

"Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota," the former Pennsylvania senator said during a victory speech in St. Charles, Missouri, adding, "I don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama."

Immediately after Santorum swept Minnesota and Missouri, Romney spoke about his opponent's wins from his Denver headquarters.

"This was a good night for Rick Santorum. I want to congratulate Sen. Santorum, but I expect to become the nominee with your help," Romney told a crowd of supporters. "I look forward to the contests to come. We're going to take our message of liberty and prosperity to every corner of this country."

Romney's loss sent shock waves through the campaign trail, as the GOP candidate campaigned more aggressively in the state over the past few days. Romney previously had a strong showing in Colorado, winning the caucus back in 2008 with 60 percent of the vote, according to the Washington Post.

Colorado has typically been a purple state in the past, according to USA Today, and will play an increasingly important role in the 2012 election.

"No candidate can win in Colorado without getting a good number of unaffiliated voters," said Rick Palacio, the chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party.

Tuesday's election could potentially be a real game changer in the Republican race, particularly since Romney had racked up two consecutive victories in Florida and Nevada. With his three victories, Santorum appears to have emerged over fellow Republican challenger Newt Gingrich as the conservative alternative of the "anyone but Romney" faction of the GOP.

From CNN:

Santorum is competing with Gingrich for conservative support to try to slow the momentum of frontrunner Romney, who had won two straight contests and three of the five before Tuesday.

His strong showing Tuesday bolstered his argument that he is the strongest conservative contender to challenge the more moderate Romney for the nomination and then Obama in the November election.

More from Reuters:

 

Santorum has made his strong positions on social issues a centerpiece of his bid and is hoping his staunch opposition to gay marriage and abortion will help win over conservatives wary of Romney because of moderate positions he took while running for office and serving as governor in liberal Massachusetts.

Romney, who also previously headed the private equity firm Bain Capital, is the best funded and best organized of the Republican candidates vying for a shot at Obama in the general election.

But many Republican voters have failed to embrace him. Some Christian conservatives are wary because of his Mormon religion.

Santorum's campaign is far behind Romney in fund-raising and in support by the Republican establishment, but he has managed to win followers - particularly in conservative Midwest states - with his message on social issues.

 With Santorum's previously struggling campaign fully revived, the latest Republican contest results could significantly alter the dynamics of "Super Tuesday." According to the Washington Post, the tone of the primaries is expected to intensify as March 6 approaches. Romney will dig deep in his pockets to target both Santorum and Gingrich in the coming weeks.

Despite the fact that no delegates were at stake in Missouri - the state will hold another caucus next month - Tuesday's election contests had the most delegates up for grab - 70 total - in a single day this primary cycle. The delegate total, in fact, exceeded the combined totals of the first three races in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Prior to Tuesday's contests, Romney had 85 delegates, while Santorum and Gingrich were behind him with 29 apiece.

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