Santorum revival re-ignites GOP nomination race

On Feb 6 it all seemed so clear. Mitt Romney had won landslides in Florida and Nevada and looked set to soon lock up the Republican presidential nomination to take on Barack Obama in November.

But if a week is a long time in US politics, two weeks is an age. The meteoric rise of Christian conservative Rick Santorum, a strong opponent of gay marriage and abortion, has turned the race on its head.

Victories on Feb 7 in Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado have catapulted Santorum from a distant third to first — a Gallup poll now gives the former Pennsylvania senator an eight percentage point lead over Romney nationally.