Rick Santorum has won Oklahoma’s Republican
presidential primary, leaving Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to
battle for second place in what is called the "reddest of the
red" states.
With 91 percent of the state’s 1,961 precincts reporting
unofficial returns, Santorum had 34 percent of the vote. Former
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 28 percent and former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich had 27 percent.
Santorum made Oklahoma a priority and visited the state twice in
recent weeks, calling it "ground zero of the conservative
movement." Four years ago, Barack Obama failed to win a single of
the state’s 77 counties.
Santorum said Oklahoma fit him well and that he appealed to the
conservative base of the Oklahoma Republican Party. Exit polling
showed 75 percent of voters considered themselves evangelicals.