'Game on'

In the words of Rick Santorum, "game on." The former senator's surprise victory in Iowa Tuesday has thrown a wrench in Mitt Romney's plans to win New Hampshire and go on to convince South Carolinians there is no longer another choice for a nominee. Suddenly a choice has emerged, and once again three in four Republicans made it clear in Iowa they want to support someone other than Romney.

The good news for Romney — he didn't come in third, Texas Gov. Rick Perry hasn't dropped out, and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) didn't choose to endorse Santorum in her concession speech and urge her supporters to back him. No one has won South Carolina since 1980 without winning either Iowa or New Hampshire first — that means Gingrich won't either. But Santorum certainly could.

Unhappy conservatives are burning up the phone lines, trying to influence the outcome and hoping to form a unified front against the former Massachusetts governor. Santorum will argue he is that candidate, and if Sarah Palin, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) or another conservative influential among Tea Party supporters comes out in favor of him, Romney could face an insurmountable challenge to his plan to become the nominee of a party that is far more conservative than he is.

Romney's campaign will argue that Santorum can't go the distance in the coming contests because he hasn't raised enough money and doesn't have the infrastructure in place. But there is plenty of time for that to arrive, and the votes will turn his way should Gingrich and/or Perry throw in the towel. The new proportional voting rules adopted by the party allow lower-tier candidates to hang in a long time in this race — but with fewer than 20 percent of the delegates allotted by the end of February, it also means Santorum can hang around until the evangelicals and Tea Party coalesce at long last. In that case, money and organization could be found overnight.

Jon Huntsman is inspired by Santorum's Iowa surprise, since the former Utah governor has stayed on the ground in New Hampshire with a plan to win and take off there. He has run against Romney for months, and though he has surged, Romney remains way ahead in polling there. Huntsman will need to target Santorum now, or risk losing second place.



WILL CONSERVATIVES CONVINCE NEWT AND PERRY TO DROP OUT? Ask A.B. returns Thursday, Jan. 5. Please send your questions and comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Thank you.