Nothing unexpected happened Saturday in Louisiana as Rick Santorum easily won the Republican presidential primary in the Bayou State, beating front-runner Mitt Romney in another conservative Southern state.

“We’re still here. We’re still fighting. We still believe, as this race really shows,” Santorum told supporters 1,500 miles away in a brewery in Green Bay, Wis.

He said Romney had called to congratulate him.

A story in The Washington Post Saturday night says, "Although the victory gives Santorum bragging rights and at least nine more delegates, it does not change the overall dynamics of the race; the former Pennsylvania senator still dramatically lags behind Mitt Romney in the hunt for delegates to the GOP’s summertime nominating convention.

Said Santorum: “I’m not running as a conservative candidate for president. I am the conservative candidate for president.”

Neither Santorum nor Romney was in the state as Louisiana Republicans weighed in. Nor was former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was trailing in Louisiana. With half the precincts counted, Santorum had 49 percent; Romney, 26 percent; Gingrich, 17 percent; and Ron Paul, 6 percent.

The next GOP presidential primary is April 3 in Wisconsin.
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