Looking To Reset Campaign, Santorum Hits 3 States [VIDEO]

Republican Rick Santorum is planning some last-minute campaigning in each of the three states holding presidential contests Tuesday.

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The former Pennsylvania senator is set for a morning rally in deeply conservative Colorado Springs, home to the Christian organization Focus on the Family. From there, he expects to campaign in Minnesota and then end his day in Missouri.

Santorum largely bypassed the nominating contests in Florida and in Nevada to lay the groundwork for this trio of states. He's been aggressively criticizing rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Santorum was the declared winner of Iowa's lead-off caucuses but has posted four consecutive losses since. He is hoping Tuesday could give his shoestring campaign a second life.

Romney intensifies fight for social conservatives

Presidential contender Mitt Romney is fighting to win over social conservatives in Tuesday's Republican caucuses.

Romney, who previously supported abortion rights, has struggled to convince some cultural conservatives that he's conservative enough.

In recent days, Romney has emphasized his social conservative credentials at campaign events and in interviews.

In a radio interview, he said he supported the Susan G. Komen Foundation's decision to strip funding from Planned Parenthood. Komen later reversed that decision. In a rally near Denver, he said the Obama administration is forcing religious institutions to distribute "abortive pills."

Romney will spend Tuesday meeting with voters in Colorado, before turning to Georgia and Maine.

Gingrich Woos Ohio's Early GOP Primary Voters

Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is campaigning in Ohio in hopes of appealing to Republicans who will vote well ahead of the state's March 6 primary.

Gingrich says he suffered in Florida because Mitt Romney captured many early voters with TV ads that beat his rivals to the punch.

Ohio also allows early voting. The former House speaker says he does not want to repeat the mistake he made in Florida.

Gingrich plans to spend the day campaigning in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. He plans to campaign Wednesday in Cleveland.

Paul invests in Minn. in search of 1st GOP win

Ron Paul has invested days of campaigning and money for television ads ahead of caucuses in Minnesota, where he's hoping he can eke out the first win of his Republican presidential campaign.

The Texas congressman spent the most time in Minnesota of any competitors ahead of Tuesday's voting and planned to see it through with a caucus-night party outside Minneapolis.

It reflects Paul's strategy of concentrating on caucus states where he can amass national convention delegates even if he doesn't win.

In his Minnesota stops, Paul has hit on anti-war themes and cast himself as the candidate most committed to cutting government budgets.

Four years ago, Paul won nearly 16 percent of the caucus vote to finish fourth in Minnesota, where Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won.

Roseanne Barr on Calif. ballot for US president

Roseanne Barr's name is on California's primary ballot as a Green Party candidate for president.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced Monday that Barr is among 24 candidates she intends to place on the June 5 ballot. An officially certified list will be released on March 29.

A news release says Barr is among three candidates for the Green Party presidential nomination.

The actress-comedian released a statement last week saying she's a longtime supporter of the Green Party and she looks forward to working with people who share her values. She says the two major parties aren't serving the American people.

The Green Party will select a presidential nominee at a convention in Baltimore in July.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
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