The former senator from Pennsylvania swept ahead of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, who have been hogging the campaign airtime, Tuesday night to claim victories in Missouri , Minnesota and Colorado.

While Missouri will award its delegates based on upcoming caucuses — not Tuesday’s primary — it’s a symbolic win for a candidate who hasn’t won anything since the Iowa caucuses and desperately needed a vote of confidence.

Santorum is well known for his socially conservative views (is “backward” a better word to describe the values of a man who once compared gay sex to incest?) and has been campaigning as a conservative alternative to Gingrich. — PZS