Rick Santorum wins Oklahoma's GOP primary race

Rick Santorum won Oklahoma’s primary and nomination for Republican presidential candidate Tuesday, asserting his appeal with conservative voters.

Ten states held primaries and caucuses during Super Tuesday, with Santorum taking three and Mitt Romney six.

Santorum also won Tennessee and North Dakota, with 37 and 40 percent votes, respectively, according to state election boards.

“We went up against enormous odds … in every state,” Santorum said during an address from his campaign headquarters in Steubenville, Ohio. “There was not a single state where we spent more money than the people that we were able to defeat.”

In addition to his Super Tuesday victories, Santorum earned primary wins in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado.

OU students watched the results live at a watch party in a Cate Center lounge, hosted by the Carl Albert Center, Cate Resident Student Association and OU Political Science Club.

Residence hall leaders wanted to create a non-partisan atmosphere for students to learn about the elections, said Paige Abernathy, Cate Center Resident Student Association president.

During the event, three OU political science professors answered student questions and discussed possible outcomes for the nomination and the presidency.

Romney has won more than 50 percent of primary delegates thus far, so it would be hard for another candidate to beat him if he continued to win big in Super Tuesday as well, professor Keith Gaddie said.

Romney won Vermont, Virginia, Idaho, Alaska, his home state Massachusetts and a closely-contested Ohio with 40, 59, 61, 32, 72 and 38 percent of votes respectively, according to state election boards.

Romney and Gingrich finished second and third in Oklahoma with 28 and 27 percent of votes, respectively, according to the state election board.

The loss for Gingrich disappointed political science sophomore Tyler Cope, who attended the watch party.

“It’s all about momentum,” Cope said. “Santorum is just ahead because he is anti-Romney right now.”

Gingrich won Georgia with 48 percent of votes.

Though professors said Romney would be the most flexible and experienced candidate in a contest with President Barack Obama, Cope said he did not support Romney.

“He’s wishy-washy,” Cope said. “He flip flops. There are some things he’s conservative on, but I don’t want someone who’s going to compromise.”

Santorum echoed similar sentiments during his speech, saying his biggest reason for his candidacy was to repeal Obama’s health care policies.

He has not required individual mandates in his home state, Santorum said, attacking a health-insurance program implemented in Massachusetts during Romney’s stint as governor.

Obama won the Democratic ballot in Oklahoma with 57 percent of votes, according to the election board.

Kathleen Evans

Kathleen is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Campus Reporter, Senior Campus Reporter and Assistant Campus Editor.