Santorum Banking On Louisiana Victory

Rick Santorum is looking to Louisiana for a much-needed rebound as Republican voters go to the polls today in the state's GOP primary. The former Pennsylvania senator is expected to do well in the contest, just a handful of days after a decisive loss to Mitt Romney in Illinois. A win over the former Massachusetts governor would serve as a reminder that Romney still struggles among the GOP's conservative faithful, especially in the South.

But Romney is outpacing Santorum in the race for critical delegates to the Republican National Convention, and he's been beating Santorum in big, industrial Midwestern states. As a result, his nomination is being increasingly seen as a sure thing, and interest in the race seems to be waning. Santorum, meanwhile, spent much of yesterday on the defensive, explaining comments he made earlier in the week and insisting he would support the eventual GOP nominee. "Over my dead body would I vote for Barack Obama," he said. (More Mitt Romney 2012 stories.)