Santorum releases Florida campaign schedule just after SC polls close

Rick Santorum released his schedule for Florida over the next two days shortly the South Carolina primary was called for Newt Gingrich. 

Less than an hour after the polls closed and the first results of the Palmetto State primary came in, the former Pennsylvania senator's campaign announced that he would be holding a campaign rally and town hall in Florida on Sunday and Monday. 

The schedule's release was a clear statement: No matter how the night ended for Santorum, he did not plan to drop out of the race. 

"We're gonna have it go on for a long time," Santorum said on CNN. He added that Gingrich was in a better position to win the Palmetto State. Santorum said his campaign wasn't "in a position to do much on the ground in South Carolina."

"Short of winning, I couldn't' be happier with the way things turned out," Santorum added.

Santorum said that Gingrich "kicked butt" and his victory showed that Mitt Romney was not the inevitable Republican nominee.

In the first hour after the polls closed, most news outlets projected Gingrich as the winner. With four percent of the precincts in, CNN projected Gingrich to win with about 36 percent of the vote, Romney in second with 34 percent, and Santorum in third with about 15 percent. Ron Paul placed fourth with 11 percent.

Santorum had previously said he planned to go on to Florida no matter how he did in South Carolina.

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