On the eve of caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota as well as Missouri's primary, Rick Santorum stopped short on Monday of predicting he would win in any of the states but said he expects a "strong showing" to bolster his candidacy.
"I think we certainly have a chance of winning one or more of those states," Santorum said on CNN. "But you know, a strong showing is a strong showing. We're very encouraged that we're going to have a strong showing in all three states, and we'll go from there."
Polls have shown Santorum with a slight lead in Minnesota since Newt Gingrich faded there. Missouri's primary is non-binding, though Santorum believes a win there could provide him with momentum against front-runner Mitt Romney. Romney holds a lead in Colorado polls.
Santorum also struck back at criticism from Romney's campaign about his past support of earmarks while in Congress. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a key Romney surrogate, called Santorum "a champion of earmarks" in a conference call on Monday with reporters.
Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, called the accusation "typical Romney" and said Romney also supported earmarks at one time, as did South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a favorite of the tea party.
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