(CBS News) Rick Santorum easily won the Republican presidential primary in Louisiana on Saturday, garnering close to twice as many votes as his next closest competitor. Santorum's victory is fresh evidence of the weakness of front-runner Mitt Romney, who is nonetheless increasingly likely to be the Republican who takes on President Obama in November.
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator and social conservative, did well among evangelicals, Catholics and those who identify themselves as "very conservative," according to CBS News exit polls. The win marks the 11th victory for Santorum, who has done well in the Deep South, including victories earlier this month in Alabama and Mississippi.
With all 4,267 precincts reporting, Santorum had about 49 percent of the vote, or 91,305 votes, while second place Romney had 27 percent, or 49,749 votes. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was a distant third with 16 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had just 6 percent of the counted vote.
Complete Louisiana GOP results
Louisiana primary results by county
Full Louisiana exit poll
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator and social conservative, did well among evangelicals, Catholics and those who identify themselves as "very conservative," according to CBS News exit polls. The win marks the 11th victory for Santorum, who has done well in the Deep South, including victories earlier this month in Alabama and Mississippi.
With all 4,267 precincts reporting, Santorum had about 49 percent of the vote, or 91,305 votes, while second place Romney had 27 percent, or 49,749 votes. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was a distant third with 16 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had just 6 percent of the counted vote.
Complete Louisiana GOP results
Louisiana primary results by county
Full Louisiana exit poll
