Santorum: Newt Blew His Chance

Newt Gingrich had a chance to become the clear alternative to Mitt Romney but he blew it by losing Florida, Rick Santorum says. "Gingrich has a big boost out of South Carolina and couldn't hold it, couldn't deliver in Florida," Santorum told CNN. I think they're going to be looking for a different conservative as an alternative to Mitt Romney." Santorum downplayed his distant third-place finish, saying his campaign had decided to skip the expensive state.

"I feel very good that people are now looking and saying, there really is one electable conservative in this race and hopefully the people in Nevada will give a little different result than we see in Florida," Santorum said. He called for an issues-based discussion as the race moves west, saying Republicans deserve better than the mud-slinging seen in Florida. "What we saw in the last few weeks is not something that is going to help us win this election," he said. (More Florida primary stories.)