U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum won Tuesday's primary elections in the U.S. southern states of Alabama and Mississippi, solidifying his status as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, the leading candidate in the race.

Santorum narrowly won both staunchly conservative states, with Newt Gingrich finishing second and Romney coming in third. The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania told supporters that his campaign was “about ordinary folks doing extraordinary things.”

“This is a grassroots campaign for president. Who would've ever thought, in the age of media that we have in this country today, that ordinary folks from across this country can defy the odds day in and day out.”

He said it was time for conservatives “to pull together” so they can take on Democratic President Barack Obama in the November general election.

“The time is now to make sure, to make sure, that we have the best chance to win this election, and the best chance to win this election is to nominate a conservative to go up against Barack Obama, who can take him on on every issue.”

Gingrich had hoped to win in at least one of the two states to keep his candidacy viable. But the ex-U.S. House speaker told supporters at a late-night rally in Birmingham, Alabama that he will stay in the race, describing himself as the best candidate to carry on the conservative legacy of former President Ronald Reagan.

“The Reagan tradition of visionary conservatism is based on Proverbs, and the very deep belief that without vision, the people perish. And I believe we need a visionary leader who is prepared to talk about a dramatically better future, with dramatically more jobs, dramatically more energy, and a much safer and stronger America. I think that's the key to winning this fall.”

The twin losses were another blow in Romney's efforts to win support from very conservative and religious Republicans who have so far backed Santorum. But despite Tuesdays' results, Romney remains in the lead in the delegate count, with many news outlets giving him well over 400 of the 1,144 votes needed to secure the party's nomination.

The former Massachusetts governor had to look towards the Pacific Ocean for good news on Tuesday. He won caucuses in the island state of Hawaii — Mr. Obama's birthplace — and the territory of American Samoa.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll indicates Romney would narrowly defeat U.S. President Barack Obama in a hypothetical election match-up , while Santorum would be finish three points behind Mr. Obama, if the election were held now.

The other Republican candidate, U.S. Representative Ron Paul, has not won a nominating contest. He had single digit support in Alabama and Mississippi.

Santorum will spend Wednesday in the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico, which holds a primary contest on Sunday. Romney will hold fundraising events in New York City and nearby Stamford, Connecticut, while Gingrich will campaign in Illinois, which holds a contest next week.

The Republican Party will formally nominate its presidential candidate at its convention in Tampa, Florida, in late August.

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(( 1. SOUNDBITE: Romney at a rally Tuesday

“It seems the only place the president is willing to cut spending is the one place we shouldn't cut spending, which is our national defense. By the way, I know there's a lot of waste in the Department of Defense, and I want to go after that waste and make it more efficient, but I want to use the dollars we find in waste, buy more ships, buy more airplanes, get an additional 100,000 troops and get the veterans the care our veterans deserve. This is a choice for America about what kind of nation we're going to have, whether we're going to have a strong military devoted to protecting freedom. I happen to believe that a strong American military is the best ally piece has ever known. We need a strong military, a superior military, one that no nation in the world would ever think of testing, that is the best course for our security and our preservation and our liberties, and that's the kind of course that I'm going to pursue.”