PEARL, Miss. – Mitt Romney was handed two stinging defeats in the nation’s most reliably conservative region Tuesday, reinforcing reservations about his ability to unite Republicans behind his bid for the White House.
The GOP delegate leader was unable to win either the Mississippi or Alabama primaries despite Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich splitting the vote among those who described themselves as strongly conservative.
More than six out of 10 GOP voters chose somebody other than the former Massachusetts governor, who has suggested in recent days that simple math would keep any of his Republican rivals from amassing enough delegates to take on President Obama in the fall.
