Rick Santorum took advantage of the Tuesday night caucuses to trounce Romney and sail into second place in the delegate count.

Santorum has been quietly plodding along with his campaign, speaking straight to targeted voters in targeted states.

Last night, he swept all three state caucuses, gatherings. Both Colorado and Minnesota helped him to gain delegates while Missouri illustrated his growing popularity.

It has been clearly determined that Minnesotans do not care much for Romney. He finished third there. Santorum held a significant lead and Gingrich finished second.

Santorum is also presumed to have won the Iowa caucuses and if not, he at least ended with a virtual tie in that state.

For some reason, the media does not seem as infatuated with him. They best pay attention. Santorum is quietly gaining momentum and is proving to be a rallying point for social conservatives within the Party.

On Monday, we discussed what a Romney/Obama campaign might do for interest in the election. Let’s consider a Santorum/Obama campaign. While Santorum might not provide the colorful commentary of Gingrich, he will be a clearly contrasted candidate to Obama. Obama’s supporters might be more fired-up if Santorum is his opponent while Santorum’s supporters are already fired-up to defeat Obama.

There would be a clear delineation between these candidates. The contrasts would be significant and social issues might be more important on the campaign circuit than war.

Obama’s campaign should be worried, very worried about the potential of a Romney – Santorum ticket. The Republicans would be smart to have their lead candidate who generates a strong appeal among moderates and independent voters while unifying their base by putting Santorum on the ticket. It would create perfect Republican unity and generate excitement about their candidates.

Nothing changes for Texas either way. Santorum, Romney or Obama will not spend much time campaigning here but they will raise money from our state to support their efforts in targeted swing states. Urban Texans will likely remain loyal to Obama while the suburban and rural populations will keep the state firmly Red.